The Fractal Code
by TheElementHero
Summary: High School senior Kristoff Bjorgman suddenly finds himself caught up in a mystery revolving around the sudden transfer of the mysterious Elsa Regale, and freshman Anna Rendale. Can he stop a terrible secret from being revealed before it's too late? AU, eventual pairings. ON HIATUS UNTIL MARCH
1. Chapter 1

**Full Summary: **

**St. Arin's High School: The most average place on earth. At least, that's the opinion of Kristoff Bjorgman, senior student. But when a mysterious girl transfers suddenly halfway through the year, strange things start happening, most of them somehow related to her and freshman Anna Rendale. Soon Kristoff finds himself caught up in a mystery like none other, and he must find the answer before a secret that should have been left hidden is revealed - or, before it's too late.**

* * *

My name is Kristoff Bjorgman. I'm just your average senior student at St Arin's High School, so don't get all worried yet.

Yet, I said.

Y'see, everything was normal for me. In fact, everything was normal for just about all five hundred or so students in the entire school! We did our schoolwork, tried out for sports, dated, planned dances, snuck into the teacher's lounge, showed freshmen around, etcetera, etcetera. But... Then it all changed.

This girl transferred to my class from another school. Elsa Regale, I think. Ever heard of her? Y'know, platinum blonde, quiet, practically feared by everyone, even the teachers, even though she never did anything wrong. A perfect student in every way.

In fact, too perfect.

She never really talked to anyone, and only opened her mouth if she needed to. You never saw her parents, or her siblings, and always, always wore those gloves with the snowflakes on the back.

Always with the damn gloves. One day I'm going to rip them off, and see what she's hiding. Of course, I'm not trying yet. I value my dignity, thank you very much.

No, not yet. But one day...

And then there was that animal she carried with her everywhere. A white kitten, with an orange triangular splotch on its forehead. I swear, either she such a goody two-shoes that the teachers just let her have a pet, since they practically threw my labrador Sven out when I tried to bring him in, or that blasted animal is just invisible!

I'm tempted to go with option one, but I honestly think that it's the second reason. The teachers don't bat an eye when it scampers around, and almost step on it from time to time. Half the students don't even know what in the world I'm talking about when I bring the thing up... what's its name... Olaf! Yeah, him. When I try to ask about him, people either stare at me like I've lost my mind, slap me, or shake their head. Only a few others have even acknowledged its existence at all!

I tell you, something is up with that girl. Something... weird is going on here, and I'm going to find out what!

But enough of her. There's this freshman, Anna Rendalle, who I could swear knows something about this whole mess. I saw her in the first half of the year, peppy and cheerful, always trying to find some party or another to go to. Heck, she even tried to ask Elsa to come to one once!

She got turned down, of course. What did you think would happen?

But ever since Elsa's arrival, she's been acting more distant than ever. She doesn't try to party much at all, if ever. Now she focuses on school, and is always studying, though I don't know what she's trying to find out when she's on a webpage about 'How to Steal a Person's Gloves'.

...Maybe she's going along the same lines as me. Or maybe this is just how Anna is, and before was just a bit of freshman buzz or something. It really doesn't matter.

...I think.

Two more to cover. Hans Sudlanis, and Duke Wesel.

Let's see... Duke is an athletic jerk who got held back about four times. He's in his senior year, like me, though he's about five years older than any student in the school. He smokes, pushes people around, does drugs... It's a wonder he hasn't been expelled.

Did I mention he had the hots for Elsa?

He had it bad. Like, BAD. First day back at school, Elsa steps in the classroom, and BAM. Rainbows and puppies singing everywhere.

Or maybe it's a crack-induced hallucination, if you're Duke. Whatever.

But, obviously, he's figured something out. He HAD the hots. Not has. Had.

It started slow at first, but gradually everyone took notice. He'd corner Elsa, follow her around, stalker her, and tell her things which no one else has heard. She usually takes it like everything else; strong and silent, brushing him off, but I know better.

The first time I saw this happen was the first time I ever saw fear in Elsa's eyes.

Duke is up to something. Somehow he's involved in this whole mess. Maybe he's even the centre of it. I don't know, but then again, it's me who's trying to find out.

One more, you say? Right, right. Hans.

He's... Alright. Kind of like a prince, if you know what I mean. Elegant, kind, noble, all that usual schmuck. Practically every single girl in school is drooling over him. But you know what really makes me suspicious?

The way he acts around Elsa. Before, he'd always be dashing and handsome, y'know? Always kissing the hands of ladies and having a new girl twice a week. But a few days into the term, and he stops the act. He's harsher to them, more distant. Almost as if he's got his eyes on...

Yup. You've guessed it. Her. Her majesty, Elsa Regale.

Ha, I can't wait to see his face when she tells him she's not interested! I'd bet a million bucks she says, flat out, 'No'.

Of course though, somehow mister fancy-pants will somehow melt that heart of ice and be the first person ever to have a conversation with that girl. It'll happen. It's Hans.

...Crud, if it does happen, for real, I need to get a better job...

* * *

_St. Arin's High School, two weeks earlier..._

"Welcome back, boys and girls. Halfway through your final year already, aren't ya? Hoo hoo! Better enjoy it while you can, 'cause this ain't lasting!"

Mr. Oakenheart, Kristoff's homeroom teacher, and the only staff member taller than six feet tossed his bags to the front of the room and grinned. "A real howler of a weather we're havin' today. 'Spect there's at least a foot and a half of fresh powder out there, mm?"

There was a chorus of agreement around the room, which was cut off abruptly by the teacher slamming his hands on the desk. "OK! Enough 'a that. I've got some news for you lot, so listen up!"

"What, you finally lose enough weight to fit into the school uniform? Oh, that's right, you can't afford one!" Duke grinned, off-handedly reaching back to give one of his cronies a fist bump.

Mr. Oakenheart shrugged it off, continuing, "Now, I know we don't normally get a lot of students halfway through the year, but due to an... unforeseen circumstance, we have a transfer from out sister school, St. Della's High. Please welcome Miss Elsa Regale!"

Steady clapping filled the room as the new girl finally stepped into the classroom, making her way to the front. Even confined to the white-and-blue colours of the uniform worn by all others, she still radiated control and elegance. Head tipped down, book-bag clasped firmly in front of her, she would have made the spiting image of a model student, if not for the kitten perched on her left shoulder, or the pale blue gloves adorning her hands.

Duke wolf-whistled, exclaiming openly, "Daaaaaayum." Other boys appealed to more subtle antics, such as crossing out their dates for Friday in their agendas.

"Alright, could you introduce yourself and, mm... Favourite colour, food, subject, hobby, and worst fear."

Elsa blinked, surprised at the onslaught of words. "Um... I'm Elsa. Hi."

A few people waved, and she blushed.

"And, um... Ice blue, freezies, art, skating, and... No comment."

Mr. Oakenheart chuckled. "A regular little Snow Queen, aren't ya?"

Her eyes flashed, and for a moment they seemed to glow with an electric-blue light. "Don't call me that. Um, if you don't mind," she added, the light fading.

"Alrighty then. Take your seat over there, beside the boy snoring his face off. Oi! Kristy!"

Kristoff snorted, and muttered sleepily, "It's Kristoff..."

Elsa sighed, and strode over to the sleeping boy, placing a gloved hand on the back of his neck and squeezing. "Rise and shine."

"YAAH! Cold!" Kristoff shot out of his seat and whacked his head on the desk beside him, falling to the floor. Laughter erupted throughout the classroom, and the boy growled, glancing up to mutter, "What's the matter with y..."

Like staring at the face of beauty itself. That's the only way to describe it.

"...ou, and why are you so gorgeous? Wait, no! I didn't-"

Elsa jerked back, and raised an eyebrow, deadpanning, "Not interested."

Oh. Well, I guess I was expecting as much.

Dragging himself up, Kristoff took his seat again, shooting a glance to his left as she began to unpack her bags. The kitten was still perched on her shoulder, staring back at him quizzically, orange splotch on its forehead rumpled into confusion.

"What's up with the cat?" Duke had leaned back to Elsa, elbow resting on her desk. "And, by the way, I'm Duke. Nice to meet'cha."

The girl gave a half-hearted smile before kicking her book-bag under her desk. "Hi... Duke. Nice to meet you too, I think."

"Ah, real sweet. How about this: You, me, tomorrow night at the bar. What'cha think?"

"Duke!" Mr. Oakenheart barked, not turning around from his notes on the white board. "I know you want a social life, but please, do not discuss your romantic affairs in my classroom."

There were a few titters of laughter, and Duke growled, turning around again just in time to hear Elsa's reply.

"One, even though you're an overage drop-out, I'm not. I'm only 17, alright? And two, I wouldn't date guys like you, if I did in the first place."

Duke flushed, and he choked out, "Well, fine! I... I don't need girls like you anyways!"

You could almost hear the tension crackling in the air. Almost. Not yet.

"A-and," he continued, narrowing his eyes, "who would wanna date some freaky Snow Queen lady in the first place?"

The tension snapped.

* * *

Duke returned to the next class with a smoking handprint on his cheek and a distant look in his eyes. If you put two and two together, you could get five and say that Duke traced a hand with one of his cigarettes to get sympathy, or you could add up to four and get the obvious answer.

Elsa seemed a little more out of it that class, but kept her cool, even making it through a boring intro from Monsieur la Blanc about how important French was.

Kristoff payed no attention to this, though, and instead tried to get information out of Elsa about the kitten. Repeatedly. And almost every conversation went something like this.

"Hey, uh, what's up with that cat thing?"

"His name is Olaf. And why should you care?"

"Well, um..."

"Exactly."

And on it went. Fruitless conversations throughout the day, always with the same negative response. Always, always, always.

Finally, it was last period. Homeroom again. Halfway through, Kristoff leaned over, whispering, "So, even though you won't tell me about the kitten, what about those gloves, huh?"

You could practically see the fire ignite in her eyes.

Elsa stood abruptly, throwing her things together and heading for the door. "Mr. Oakenheart, I have somewhere to go, preferably not here."

"Hey, wait-" Kristoff began, but was cut off.

"Yes, I remember, the principal gave me your permission slip! Leave right at 3:21, or something, yah?"

The girl flinched, but nodded, and strode out the door.

"Wait a minute-" Kristoff tried. "I didn't mean to make you leave! Come back!"

"Be quiet, Kristy," Duke sneered. "She had 'permission'," he continued, with air-quotes on the previous word, "and no one like you could possibly make big ol' Snow Queen leave, huh?"

Kristoff grit his teeth. "She is NOT a snow queen!"

"Hey!" Mr. Oakenheart snapped. "No talking during the lesson, mm?"

The blonde sunk in his seat, feeling guilty. "Did I make her leave?" he whispered. "Did she really have an excuse to go?"

"Of course, to get away from you, Kristy."

"Shut up, Duke."

* * *

Finally, the day was over. All Kristoff wanted to do was find the nearest television, flick it on, and veg out for about five hours. Homework? Pfft, later.

"Ah, hey! Watch out!"

WHAM

Suddenly, Kristoff found himself face down in a snowdrift, a warm mass of something-or-other smothering him from above.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Two small hands pulled on his shoulders, lifting him up enough to let him take a breath. "Are you alright?"

"Uh, what do you think?" He glared at the newcomer, a small, strawberry blonde girl, who was staring at him guiltily. "Who are you, and what on earth were you doing?"

"Sorry!" she repeated, looking guiltier than ever. "I'm Anna! I know who you are, of course, but I wasn't really aiming at you, I was looking for Elsa, and I kind of wasn't paying attention, so-"

"AIMING? What were you DOING?"

She shrunk away, tapping her index fingers together slowly. "Uh... I miiiiiight have been experimenting with some 'borrowed' corporation tech..."

Kristoff raised an eyebrow. "Borrowed?" He tried to wriggle out of the snow, but couldn't, and sighed. "And, um, could you help me out of here?"

"Sure!" As she worked on digging out the snow, Anna's eyes widened, and she asked, "Oh, hey, have you seen Elsa? I reeeeally need to talk to her, and-"

"You know her?"

"Yup! Well, kind of. I think I've seen her before. Somewhere. Probably."

"You sound so sure."

"Hey! I just wanted to welcome her to the school, say hi, show her around all the secret little nooks and crannies, be an expert, you know?"

"...Anna, she probably knows more about this place than you do. You're a freshman."

At this, the girl stopped digging, and blew a very-mature raspberry at the helpless boy. "Whatever. Do you want me to help you or not?"

"Fine. Continue."

"But," she grinned, twirling one of her braids, "you have to appologize."

"What? Why?!"

"You basically insulted me!"

Kristoff rolled his eyes, and muttered, "There is no insult that goes low enough to insult someone like you."

"See what I mean?"

"Fine. I'm sorry."

She smirked. "Now... Say, 'Please release me, oh great and powerful Anna!'"

"No."

"I won't dig you ouuuuut..."

"I'd rather wait for the snow to melt, thanks," he growled.

"Fine." She went back to digging, and added, "You're lucky I'm such a kind person, otherwise I'd have left you here to rot!"

"One, it's winter, things can't rot, and two, someone else would pull me out before dark. Seriously. Not everyone is as heartless as you."

Anna giggled. "Whatever, Kristy."

"It's Kristoff..."

* * *

Elsa nervously glanced out of the hallway, and, when the last person had emptied from the school, made her run for the door. She almost made it.

Almost.

There, tacked on the bulletin board over the usual student council junk, was a bright red poster on which was scrawled in jagged blue, "I KNOW, SNOW QUEEN."

Keeping herself from running, Elsa gently placed Olaf on the floor, stepping back with one hand outstretched. Trying not to scream, after another check of the hall, she aimed one hand at the offending poster, closed her eyes, and slowly, slowly, pulled off her glove.

When Mr. Oakenheart walked down that very same hall a few hours later, the rest of the teachers were staring at the board, scratching their heads, and wondering how on earth a snowflake-shaped mark had managed to completely obliterate one of the walls.

* * *

"There. You're free to go." Anna kicked away the last piece of snow, and stepped back as the older boy pulled himself out of the snow, white powder coating him everywhere.

"Thank you," he muttered, shaking himself, spraying the dust everywhere.

"Watch it! Oh, and," she looked down at her feet, scuffing one back and forth, "I'm sorry for running into you. It was my fault, I guess. I should have used the F - Runners more carefully."

He stopped midway through pulling his bag on, furrowing his eyebrows. "F - Runners?"

"You know, sequel to the E - Runners?" she joked. "No, I'm kidding. There's only F - Runners, little air puff things you put on the bottom of your shoes, see?" She lifted a leg and tapped the sole, indicating the figure-eight shaped attachment that ran along the bottom.

"And what do they do?"

"Yeah, that's the thing..." After standing on her tiptoes, she managed to lean close enough to rest her chin on Kristoff's shoulder and whisper, "I don't know!"

"What." He didn't even bother to phrase the question, and instead spoke it as a deadpan.

"Yup!"

"You took stuff - er, borrowed," he corrected after she shot him the death stare, "that you don't even know how to use?!"

"Nooo... I borrowed the wrong thing! I was supposed to get the F - A: Jetz, but they were on the same shelf, and Dad isn't that organized, so I kinda might've mixed them up."

"Dad?"

"Yeah, well, I call him that, but he's really my uncle."

Kristoff shook his head, replying, "No, I mean your Dad invented all this stuff? Like, the F - Runners and the other thing?"

"Uh-huh! He works for the new company, what's-it's-name, down the road from here."

"...You don't know the name of your own father's company."

"Hey, he only joined a week ago, OK?" she defended, raising her arms. "How'm I supposed to keep track of everything, anyways?"

Kristoff sighed, leaving the question hanging, and began to walk. That little delay had cost him fifteen minutes, meaning that he had even less time to do his work.

Hey, TV first, remember?

"Where're ya going?"

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Anna, who was walking beside him, having to step twice as fast to keep up with the tall boy.

"Why are you following me?"

"Uh, I live this way. Duh."

"Oh, great." Kristoff tried to think of a topic to pass the time, and managed lamely, "So what do those Jetz things do? And the F - Thingy?"

"F - Runners, genius."

"Whatever. Just... What were you trying to do?"

Anna tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Uh... The F - Runners are kinda like... jetpacks for your feet? I think. I don't know, but when I tried them, little blasts of air sorta shot out. That's why I crashed into you. Does that help?"

"Oh, gee, I feel so much better knowing it was an accident," the boy muttered, but smiled nonetheless.

"I waaaaas going to use the F - A: Jetz to hug-tackle Elsa and make her fly..." Anna grinned.

"Wait, you were going to spontaneously tackle ELSA, and MAKE HER FLY?! I don't even..." Kristoff sighed, and put his fingers to his temples. "Look, you don't randomly scoop people up and fly them hundreds of feet above the ground as a 'welcome to school' greeting! They'll flip!"

"Really? I always thought they'd be all excited or something..."

"NO!"

* * *

"Hey! Snow queen!"

Elsa turned, trying to keep her anger under control. "What do you want?"

The boy grinned, walking up until they were nose to nose, albeit him being taller by about three inches. "I've got a message from Duke for ya, Frosty."

"What does that..." She paused, holding back words such as 'jerk' and 'idiot', and managed, "What does he want?"

"Oh, nothing... Just a little something about that new company... What's its name? Oh yeah, The Freak Association for Creative Talents or something. Lame name."

"It's Freedom. Not... that other word."

He leaned closer, foreheads almost touching, and whispered, "What, scared? Of course you are; you're the freak here. And just so things are clear, Duke knows. He knows everything. So you'd better watch it."

She raised an eyebrow. "And if I don't?"

"Then you might find... certain things... out of your control." The boy held up a piece of paper, indicating the all-too-clear figure on it. "You might have been the only person in that hallway, but cameras have eyes too, Snow Queen."

Elsa's eyes widened slightly, but she calmly replied, "You do realize that this is blackmail, right?"

"Whatever. Just remember, we're watching you. You can run, you can hide, you can do more of that creepy stuff," he sneered, indicating the picture. "But no matter what you do, you can't get away from us... Freak."

She locked her eyes with his, their faint glow barely visible, and whispered ever so softly, "I don't intend to."

* * *

Kristoff groaned, Anna's incessant voice finally managing to drill an annoying buzz into his head. Since when had his route home taken this long? Oh, wait, maybe it was just the way Anna was talking a gazillion miles a second.

"...and Dad said that he was going to try and patent his inventions, so he changed jobs a lot to find a good company, so-"

"Alright! I get it! Uh, I mean," he added, seeing the hurt on Anna's face, "I'm here! Like, home! So, uh bye?"

She stared at him a second, and then slowly, slowly nodded. "Uh huh."

"Is everything alright?"

The wicked gleam returned, and she smirked, replying, "Of course, Kristy! See ya!"

Kristoff growled as she ran down the driveway and onto the sidewalk, slamming the door with as much fury as he could.

"For the thousandth time today, IT'S KRISTOFF!"

* * *

Anna hummed quietly to herself as she plodded along the sidewalk, staring at her feet. Why did she feel... Kinda different when he shrugged her off?

"Oh, ew, if it's another crush, I'm gonna-"

THUD

Not watching where she was going, she somehow managed to run into the only other person on the street, knocking both the them and their books to the ground.

"Ow."

Anna covered her mouth, quietly yelling, "Ohmigosh. I am SO sorry! Here let me get your books-"

"No, I can get it; it's my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going."

"I wasn't either! I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I wasn't really looking ahead, and then, well, wham!"

"I guess we have a lot in... common..."

They both reached for the same book, and Anna blushed, handing it to the other, saying, "Sorry! Oh, hey, your uniform... You go to St. Arin's high, don't you?"

"Uh huh."

"What's your name? I'll look out for you tomorrow!"

"...It's Elsa."

Anna gasped, jumping to her feet, yelling, "YOU'RE Elsa? I had no idea? I always thought that you were all cold and mean, ya know, with the whole nickname 'Snow Queen', but hey! Here you are!"

Elsa flinched, and managed, "Just 'Elsa' is fine, thanks."

"OK, sure! And... Oh," Anna stuttered, as the other girl got to her feet. "I always thought you'd be... Taller." Anna stared, finally noticing that even though she wasn't that tall, Elsa was about two inches shorter than her.

The blonde sighed, blushing. "I know. I get that a lot. I didn't used to be, though..."

"Uh?"

"Ah, never mind. Sorry."

"So..." Anna scuffed her foot hesitantly, and grinned. "See you tomorrow?"

"I guess." Elsa smiled, and began to walk, opening the flap of her bag to let Olaf clamber onto her shoulder. "Bye."

"Oh, WOW! Is that your kitten? I just love animals, they'e so... Well, so everything! Dad won't let us get anything 'cause he says they'll mess up his work, but I just love to go to volunteer at the Humane Society! I mean, like there are all sorts of-"

"Goodbye, Anna."

Anna stopped, staring at Elsa's retreating figure, hurt. "Uh... OK then..." Sighing, she set off again, now feeling even more lonely than before.

* * *

Kristoff sank into the couch, sighing. Remote in one hand, he began to flip the channels, grabbing fistfuls of Doritos every few seconds and casually munching on them, crumbs dribbling onto the couch. Sven nuzzled at his heels, welcoming him, and eventually settles down beside the boy, content with the rhythmic clicking of the remote.

"-and over to the west on highway-"

Click

"-no matter what, friendship always-"

Click

"-taste my sword, demon! I now activate-"

Click

"-the fire that ravaged the once beautiful mansion seven years ago, and claimed the lives of three, almost taking another in the process. How's the scene, Jim?"

Kristoff paused, a handful of chips halfway to his mouth. Even though he didn't normally watch the news, something about the story made him stop. What fire?

"Thanks, Rachel. You see, after the disastrous fire at the beginning of January years ago, workers began to clear away the site. Two bodies were found, however, one remains missing, if it even existed at all. Investigators suggest that the intensity of the heat burned away the remains, leaving no evidence behind. Why it has taken so long to finally shift through the rubble is unknown to the public, but officials can confirm that the reason does not matter.

"Meanwhile, project director Michael Cullen reports that it will take almost a month to clear the whole ground, with the size of the damaged property at over 1 000 000 square feet. It is unknown how the fire was started, although the police have found evidence of supposed arson. If you have any information, don't hesitate to email us on our website, or call the number on the bottom of your screen. Now, new start-up company The Freedom Association for Creative Talents has yet to decide what they plan to do with the purchased lot, only stating that-"

Click

Kristoff turned off the television, slightly shocked. Three deaths? Why hadn't he heard of it before? There weren't really many accidents where he lived, and even though the fire had burned seven years ago, he still would have heard of it. Thinking, he reached for another handful, only to knock the bag to the floor, crumbs splashing everywhere with a loud crumple.

"KRISTOFF!"

The boy gulped, frantically trying to clean up the mess before his mother stormed in. "Y-yeah mom?"

"You'd better not have spilled those chips! I specifically told you that if you were going to eat in there-"

"Yeah, got it! Sorry!"

By the time he had finished getting the orange powder out of the snow-white rug, all thoughts of the fire had vanished from his mind.

* * *

The next day, the second day back from winter break, Kristoff managed to slip past Anna and make it to the school peacefully. No more snowdrifts, no more incessant chattering, no more hopelessly adorable pouts-

Wait, what?

Mentally slapping himself, he threw his bag down by the flagpole, pulling out his phone, trying to forget he even thought what he did. For a few minutes, everything was fine, with the simple actions of PuzzleBreaker to help him relax.

Of course, it didn't last.

"Whatcha got there?"

"Augh!" Kristoff fumbled his phone, letting out a sigh when he managed to just catch it, and whipped around, glaring at the owner of the voice. "What?!"

"Sorry!" Anna put her hands up playfully, in a mock defence. "I didn't know you were so into that game, OK? Yeesh!"

"No it's fine," the boy sighed, anger deflating. "I was just startled, that's all. I wasn't expecting someone so..." He stared at the younger girl, and managed, "...peppy this morning."

She shrugged. "Yeaaaah, a lot of people don't like my little 'wake-up-calls' or surprises and stuff... They usually say something about almost having a heart attack or something. Can you believe that?"

"No, really," Kristoff grumbled, rolling his eyes. "There's no way a SUDDEN SHOCK could give an unsuspecting person A HEART ATTACK."

"Well when you put it like that..."

"Oh, never mind." He shoved his phone away, and grabbed his bag off the ground. "Let's just go inside. I know school doesn't start for a bit, but we can-"

"Explore?!"

"No."

"Adventure?!"

"No!"

"Run around peeking into every room we can?!"

"NO! Look," Kristoff sighed, face-palming, "I was going to set up and get ready for first period, like A NORMAL PERSON."

Anna grinned sheepishly. "Ohhhhh. OK... Let's go, then!" Yanking his arm, she half led, half dragged him over the stairs and into the school, ignoring his protesting the entire way.

* * *

"Whoa."

The two stopped, stunned, taking in the massive snowflake-shaped mark engraved on the wall where the student council board had once been.

"What happened here?" Kristoff breathed, trying to think of a logical way it could have happened. "It would take so much time and effort to do that... You would definitely get caught in the act."

"Well, maybe they just had a thing against bulletin boards," Anna remarked, pointing to the the mangled pile of paper sitting in a heap by the mark. "Because that thing is TOTALLED. Anger issues much?"

"Ya think?"

They glanced at it on last time, then continued their walk down the hall, completely silent, until they reached the tell-tale split in the corridor that separated the two older grades from the younger.

"Soooo... See you around?" Anna asked, hopefully holding out a hand for a fist bump.

Kristoff stared at the energetic, lively girl who had knocked him into a snowdrift one day, talked her mouth off then and the next, and yet still managed to gain his trust. He smiled, and lightly tapped his fist to hers. "See you around."

* * *

Duke stared at the destroyed wall, cracking a wicked grin. Whipping out his phone, he thumbed the buttons and pressed enter, sending out a message to all of his cronies.

'It's confirmed. SQ=F Begin project launch 315.'

Chuckling softly, he stuck his hands in his pockets, an uncharacteristically toothy smile plastered on his features, and began his slow walk to homeroom, his deadly message floating in cyberspace, just waiting to be opened.

* * *

"No."

Anna pouted, and reached out her hand, only to have it knocked away yet again.

"I said, no."

"Please? Just one? I'll never ask you for anything again!"

Kristoff snorted, and muttered, "Yeah, I can totally expect you to keep THAT promise."

"But-"

"Nope. They're all mine." He wagged his eyebrows playfully before delicately dropping the cheese crunchies into his mouth one by one. "Mmmm..."

"Now you're doing it on purpose! Not fair!" the girl wailed, throwing her arms up in mock despair. "You withhold my favourite treat from me: the Curly Puffs!"

Kristoff laughed. "I feel soooooo guilty right now. Not."

A smile tugged at Anna's lips, and she scooted closer, drawling, "But them Curly Puffs be gooooooood..."

"No."

"I'll do your homework."

"NO! I'll get an even worse grade than I already have!"

"It can't be that hard..." She reached under the lunch table and pulled a binder out of his backpack and opened it to a random page. After scanning it for a moment, wide eyed, she carefully slipped it back, and inched as far away from the bag as possible.

"What?"

"That... Just..." Anna shook her head. "Next time you want to confuse me, just shove the nearest grade twelve math textbook in my face, alright?"

* * *

Elsa sighed, this time managing to exit the school without any incident. "Not like yesterday..."

"What happened yesterday?"

She flinched, seeing Anna and the strange boy (Kristoff, not Kristy, right?) standing by the flagpole, waiting for something. Waiting? Oh, right. Probably for her, to welcome her or something.

"Hi," began Kristoff, awkwardly extending his hand. "I think we got off to a bad start yesterday, so here. I'm Kristoff. Welcome to St. Arin's High."

"And I'm Anna! You saw me yesterday, 'member?"

"How could I forget? You almost tackled me," Elsa sighed, trying to step past the two. Unfortunatly, they had no intention of leaving. "Can I get through?"

The other girl furrowed her eyebrows. "We just wanna say hi and get to know you... Really! All I know is that Duke practically hates you!"

"I am well aware of that," the blonde sighed icily. "Please let me pass."

"But-"

"No. You aren't going to know me, or buddy up, or anything. Now, I really need to get by. Excuse me."

Anna grabbed her shoulder, whipping her around. "C'mon! Just a few questions, I promise! How about five?"

"Anna..." Kristoff gently tugged the younger girl away, stating, "I think she wants to be alone."

"No one wants to be alone!" the girl tried, in an attempt to argue.

"I don't want to be," Elsa replied flatly, eyes distant, "but I have to. Goodbye."

She turned, and began to walk, to be stopped yet again by the persistent, energetic blur that was Anna. "Why? Why are you pushing me away? You were so kind yesterday, forgiving me and everything! Why are you distant now?"

"Anna..."

"Why are you shutting me out? I want to help!" Anna yelled, voice raised. "Just let me in! Accept my friendship!"

Kristoff stepped forwards to intervene, only to be stopped by the hands of both girls as they glared at each other. "Calm down, guys-"

"No! Elsa, please! Just... Stop being so cold to others. Stop hurting them, hurting yourself. Let that icy heart of yours thaw! Please," she begged, stubborn in her approach. "Just give me a chance."

The older girl stared at the other's pleading face, at Kristoff's worried eyes, at the students watching them, ready to admit defeat, ready to open up to Anna.

A memory stirred as she reached out her hand, 'OK' barely on the tip of her tongue.

Never again.

Backing away, answer dying in her throat, Elsa turned and ran.

* * *

"I can't believe her! Being so cold to us like that! Maybe she really does deserve the title 'Snow Queen'!" Anna ranted, waving her arms to exemplify her point. "Ooh, hi, nice to meet you, oh wait, now I'm going to turn you down, shut you out, and act like a total b-"

"That's quite enough," Kristoff interrupted. "Maybe she was just having a bad day or something. Or maybe she just didn't like your approach."

"But that's the thing! Number one, every single person in the school has liked my "Hi, nice ta meet'cha" meet and greet. Even Duke! Well, he did offer me crack after that, but that's besides the point! No one can turn down their Anna Greeting!"

"No one except Elsa," he remarked dryly.

"Hey, even you got it. We're friends now, aren"t we?"

"Well..."

"Yeah we are. And number two, I know I've seen her before! I mean, who can forget a person like her? Kinda stands out, doesn't she?"

Kristoff shurgged. "Are you sure it just wasn't the internet or something? There are a lot of look-a-likes around there..."

"Positive. I have this really distinct memory of a lady that looks just like her..." Anna shut her eyes for a moment, and distractedly mumbled, "Except for the brown hair... Wait, what?"

"Brown hair?"

"That's weird. I just kinda saw a flash of this really dark hair, instead of platinum... I can see her face, though. It's Elsa. I'm ninety-nine percent sure."

"The other one percent is...?"

"It's not." She grinned sheepishly. "Yeaaaah... Maybe I should flip the percentages around."

"You think?"

* * *

Elsa leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Why had she run? Sure, traumatic childhood memory, but no biggie, right?

Right. Not.

Olaf peeked out of her bag, yawning sleepily, and mewled for attention, pawing at her stomach. She smiled weakly, scooping him up and placing him on her shoulder, stroking him as she caught her breath.

She could always go back. She could apologize, finally be open with someone. Everything would be alright, then.

But it couldn't be. Elsa hated to admit it, but even sharing the pieces of information had made her feel exposed. Vulnerable. Weak.

She could never live a normal life. Not with the curse she was destined to bear. Not with the monster she was.

"I can never go back," she whispered, Olaf snuggling into her hair. "I can never tell them the truth."

* * *

Anna threw herself onto her bed, rumpling the perfectly folded corners and disturbing the perfectly arranged pillows. Staring up at the ceiling, she casually fiddled with her braids, mumbling things under her breath, most having to do with Kristoff, or Elsa, or both.

"Who does she think she is... And him mocking me... Why is he so damn cute-No! Not going there... Why are you afraid of me? And what's with the gloves..."

"Anna?" There was a light tap on the door, followed by the question, "Are you in there?"

"Yeah, Dad. Come in."

Lucian Rendalle, Anna's adoptive father and caretaker stepped in, surveying the clothes blanketing the floor, and the books scattered across almost every available surface. "I thought you said you'd clean this up a week ago," he frowned, brushing off the many accessories covering a swivel chair, taking a seat. "Remember, a clean room means-"

"A clean mind, yeah I know. It's just... It's that new kid, Elsa," she admitted, sitting up with a sigh. "I'm trying to be welcoming and stuff, but she's hiding so many things it's almost impossible to talk to her! I mean, is it me? Does she not like my approach? Or..." The girl trailed off, hanging her head dejectedly. "I know it seems like a silly thing to get upset about, but I have this nagging feeling I've seen her before, and if I get to know her, I'll remember... But I can't when she's being so hard to talk to! What do I do, Dad?"

Lucian sighed, gently placing his hand on Anna's shoulder. "Anna... I know you mean well. You just want to help, correct?"

"Y-yeah..."

"See, it's a good cause. And in the end, evil always falls to good. So give her time, Anna. Let her come to you on her own, alright?"

She smiled, sniffling, and leaned over to wrap her arms around him. "Alright. Thanks dad."

His mouth smiled, but his eyes were sad. "Your welcome, Anna. But please, remember, some secrets must be left hidden."

"What was that?"

Lucian shook his head, patting Anna's back softly. "Nothing important."

Nothing important at all.

* * *

Kristoff opened the door eagerly, only to be met with a face-full of fur as Sven tackled him to the ground.

"Ack! Get off!"

"Kristoff!" His mother's voice rang through the house, weary and grumpy. "Take that dog of yours out of the house! He's being a right nuisance, he is, so here!" A leash was flung into the snow beside him, finished with a, "Go wear him out around the block or something!"

Kristoff chuckled, fastening the length of cord around Sven's neck and placing his bag inside the hall before shutting the door. "Alright mom! Be back in an hour!"

Still smiling, he let Sven drag him down the driveway and out onto the sidewalk, ready for anything.

Almost.

* * *

"Whoa..." breathed Kristoff, marvelling at the newly-built manor at the end of the road. Tall, white marble pillars, with pale brown stone walling made for an impressive sight. Carefully cultivated gardens lined the entranceway, gate swinging on its hinges, enticing him to step in and take a peek.

"Wait right here, Sven. I'll only be gone for a minute, K?"

He received a bark in return, and, still slightly stunned, made his way to the front door.

He was just reaching for the knocker when a voice from above him yelled, "Kristoff?"

"Anna?!"

"What are you doing here?" she called, leaning out her bedroom window, am entire floor above him.

"What are YOU doing here?!"

"I live here, duh!"

He gaped, jaw falling open comically. "You're RICH?!"

"Um... Yes?"

His mouth stayed open for a little while longer, before he snapped it shut and shook his head. "OK, I think my brain's adapted to this catastrophe. So, uh... What's up?"

"Besides me, you mean?" she giggled, now almost dangling upside-down off the window ledge. "Nothing much, just thinking."

"About Elsa?"

"About Snow Queen," Anna corrected, frowning. "She was pretty cold today."

"She doesn't like that name..."

She shrugged, pulling herself inside. "Whatever. Hold on, OK? I'll be right down!"

"Wait, what are you doing to-"

There was a whoosh of noise, and the girl fell, or rather, flew, through the window and onto the ground beside the now-yet-again stunned boy. "F - A: Jetz," she grinned, tapping the small devices strapped to her shoes. "Gotta love 'em."

"Why am I not surprised..."

"It's me, genius!" Anna smiled, playfully punching him on the shoulder. "You should know me better by now! Anna Rendale: Spontaneity Unlimited!" She broke down giggling, smiling from ear to ear.

Oh, how wonderful it was to hear her laugh again.

* * *

Power flurried to her fingertips, exploding out of her and into the air before being absorbed by the open gap before her. She sighed, pouring even more forth, gritting her teeth as her vision flickered. It was more than usual. More than she could normally expel.

Then again, normally she didn't run away from the only person she ever cared about.

Sure, memories were tricky things. Always finding a way to somehow disappear, or change. But some stayed the same. Some would always hold strong.

Like that one she had remembered earlier. The one that had changed her entire life.

She gasped, wrenching her hands free from the port as excess energy winked into little snowflake-shapes, dancing around before settling in her hair. The hole fizzled, and the cuffs retracted, sliding into the wall with a click, leaving no hint of the transfer that had taken place seconds before.

She remembered the countdown. The dreaded, cursed, wretched countdown that ripped apart all of reality and took away all she had. The countdown changed everything, and though for some for good, for her it was a tragedy.

Why was she the victim? Why did she have to suffer at the hands of others, like some sort of twisted saviour to bear their sins? Why her?

She knew why, but refused to admit it.

She could have stopped it. She could have stopped it all. The destruction, the annihilation, the despair, the agony, the suffering...

The death.

She knew it all along, and yet still refused to accept the truth.

She sat and watched as the numbers ticked by. The ones that would seal hers and many other's fate.

The countdown.

3... 2... 1...

* * *

**Alright, you may think you know where this is going. In fact, you probably do have some idea you think is right. Let me set you straight:**

**You don't.**

**I can guarantee that not a single person can guess what will happen. Think not? Fine. Drop me a review telling me how you think this will happen. I'll reply back with, "Nope, not even close."**

**OK, OK, enough with the harshness. WOOT WOOT 7000 WORDS! Let's hear it for Teddy!**

***silence***

**Well OK then.**

**So, yeah, drop me a review. I'll do my best to keep updates at least every two weeks, but no promises. School, ya know?**

**Reviews help though. Just sayin'...**

**Yup.**

**PS: I own the cover! No stealsies! (Oh wait, you can't see it because fanfiction won't let me upload it... Curse you faulty error codes!)**


	2. Chapter 2

Yeah, it's me again. Kristoff, remember? So like I said, things were crazy. A drop-dead gorgeous girl with mood swings, phantom kitten, and a mysterious snowflake practically carved into the wall. And that's only my part of this!

Believe me, it'll get worse. It always does. Always, always, always. St. Arin's High School used to be the most normal place on earth. But now?

Now things are just getting weird.

* * *

_St. Arin's High School, present day..._

The first strike was when Duke started to follow her around. And not like the way he stalked his 'girlfriends'. No, this was just plain tailing someone until the get fed up with you and slap you.

Again.

Actually, repeatedly.

Kristoff noticed the way his eyes shifted, the way he'd slowly distance himself from his cronies, always partially focused on her. If you were within ten feet of her, take a look. Duke was always, undoubtably hidden away somewhere, watching, ever watching.

Elsa knew this.

She felt the fear she had contained for most of her life threaten to rise again, burning her insides like fire. It was agonizing, knowing that he knew, that he had found out, and was taunting her, holding those photos, those words, those secrets above her head, threatening to let them drop.

She almost couldn't take it.

He was around every corner, his presence pressing in from everywhere, always on eye on her, grinning slightly.

"I know," his face said. "I know, and if you want it to stay a secret, you'd better listen up."

Elsa had tried to stay calm, but it was hard when a life-threatening secret was being held over your head almost every moment of the day. She came close to cracking once, actually did twice, but barely managed to conceal it. She was breaking, and Duke knew.

The first order came at noon.

* * *

Anna groaned as her alarm sliced through the blissful silence, pounding the offending item with her hand until the bleeping stopped abruptly.

To sleep in, or not to sleep in, she mused, considering another five minutes. Oh, the indecision-ness is... Something or other...

She let out a soft snore, only to bolt up awake at the rapid knocking on her door. "Gyaaaaaah! I'm awake, Dad!"

"You'd better be, Anna-banana. And have you seen the F - A: Jetz? I can't find them, and The Freedom Association is expecting me to present them today." He paused, and added, "Did you borrow them?"

Anna quickly shoved the metioned items under her bed and yelled a little too quickly, "Uh, nope! No, not at all! Ah hah hah hah..."

He sighed. "Give them to me when you come out, OK?"

"Why do you always guess right?" she pouted, hopping out of bed.

* * *

Kristoff pulled out his phone again, the same spot he always waited, and, after checking that Anna was nowhere in sight, began to scroll through his emails.

"No, I don't want a new phone plan... Geez, Kevin, stop making these random memes... Get a life, Richard. Seriously. And who's this person... Wait, Snow Queen has email? WAIT, Elsa EMAILED ME?"

He frantically tapped the email, trying to open it, smudges trailing across his screen. "C'mon, c'mon..."

Bleep

"_Kristoff,_

_I'm sorry about yesterday. Really. Tell Anna this; I couldn't find a way to get this to her. And I got your email from your website, in case you're wondering. No, I am not stalking you._

_Look, I know I'm a bit different. Sometimes, though, you just have to let secrets stay secrets. If you play with fire, you'll get burned. Or, if you play with ice, you'll get frostbite._

_My secret DOES bite, Kristoff. So please, for yours and Anna's sake, STAY AWAY._

_I'm really sorry. I wish I could tell you more, but I can't._

_Goodbye._

_-Elsa_"

Kristoff frowned, scrolling up to read the message again. More and more secrets... She was just an unending puzzle, wasn't she? He groaned, flipping his phone closed as the buzzer rang, letting all students know it was time to go inside.

He could think about this another day; for now, he had other things to worry about.

Like that geography test he didn't study for.

Crap.

* * *

She managed glance at her watch, checking to make sure she didn't miss it. Even a minute over, and...

Elsa squeezed her eyes shut and took a breath, forcing the thought from her mind. She had to focus on the important things right now, not the trivial.

For instance, there happened to be a trio of Duke's gang practically pinning her to the wall. Or that there was no one around to help.

Why did she have to take the long way back to the school? Sure, leave for one minute to go and grab something to eat, and BAM, you'e mobbed. Way to go, Elsa.

She sighed, trying to free her arm. No such luck. The boy only pressed harder, making her wince.

"Can I... Help you?" she asked, trying to act like everything was normal.

"You sure can, Snow Queen," the one that was up in her face growled. "You got Duke's message, didn't you?"

A pause. "And what if I did?"

He snapped his fingers, and all three stepped back, letting the significantly smaller girl go. "Then you know what to do. And, for your sake, don't mess up."

His grin was creepier than anything else she had every seen, cutting her like a dagger. "Or else it'll be the last mistake you'll ever make."

* * *

Anna rubbed her smarting forehead, making a mental note to not run into a support pillar next time she tried to rush to the front of the lunch line. Grabbing her tray, which had thankfully survived the impact, she eased her way through the crowds to plop down beside a familiar blonde-haired boy.

"Heya, Kristy!"

"Kristoff," he answered automatically, chewing on a carrot.

"Whatever. Why are you so glum today? Usually you're all sarcastic and stuff..."

"No, really!" The boy rolled his eyes irritatedly.

"Ah, never mind. You're back to normal. But in all seriousness, what's on your mind? You look like someone ran over your dog..."

He shot her a glare.

"I'm just saying!"

"No, it's fine, I'm just a bit antsy... You see, it's Elsa... I got an email from her. She said to tell you she's sorry, but..."

"But?" she prompted, leaning in. "Go on..."

"...All I got were more secrets. It's actually kind of creeping me out, what with how much that girl is hiding. I mean, kitten, gloves, mood swings, spontaneous running away... I can't take it!"

Anna gasped, putting a hand to her mouth in slightly-mock-yet-still-justified terror. "Maybe she's an evil wizard undercover on a mission to destroy us! We have to stop her!"

Kristoff gave her a look that clearly said, "Are you serious."

"Whaaaaaat? I'm just trying to think of some ideas..."

"Well, that's obviously not the case. Magic doesn't exist. Now, if you'll excuse me, lunch is over, and I'm getting the heck out of here from all this craziness."

He scraped his chair back, dragging his bag up to his shoulder and giving Anna one last 'honestly-what-the-literal-heck-is-going-on-here' eye lock, and disappeared out the door and into the senior corridor.

The girl pouted, sticking out her tongue and yelling, "Magic does so exist! Don't crush my dreams!"

* * *

Elsa appeared calm on the outside, which was good. No one noticed the slight changes in her behaviour, or the way she held herself, or the nervous glances at the clock.

Well, maybe except that blonde guy sitting behind her.

He'd been staring at her the whole time. Halfway through the period, he pulled out his phone and pointed to it wordlessly, mouthing, 'email'.

Oh. It's Kristoff.

She rolled her eyes (albeit a bit nervously) and turned back around, nervously tapping her foot. While the exterior was poised and perfect, her interior was throwing itself off the edge of a psychological cliff.

I am going to die.

She didn't know exactly what made her think that, and partially didn't realize that it was herself who had thought that until a few seconds later.

She watched time tick slowly by, finally standing up and making way for the door at her usual time, the teachers and students ignoring her, used to her regular disappearance near the end of class.

As she exited, though, closing the door, she felt a pair of eyes following her the whole time.

* * *

Kristoff stared as Elsa left the classroom, watching her retreating back. Glancing up at the clock, he noted yet again the same punctual time she had left at. 3:20. Like always.

Something nagged at the base of his skull, reminding him of something, but he waved it away, trying to concentrate.

Later, he reminded himself. I'll look into it later.

* * *

Hans grinned, pulling a football out of his bag and spinning it offhandedly. He could feel the adoring eyes of most girls on him, even the ones with boyfriends. He often wanted to behave like the 'bad-boy' most jocks were, but being polite and gentlemanly was his key to success.

It also helped that he looked fabulous.

Making his way for the change room, Hans yanked off his tie, stuffing his bags in a locker and pulling on his jersey. Today was the final practice before the season started. He wasn't going to miss it for the world.

He took a swig of his water bottle, flexing muscles and tendons proudly, dumping the rest of the liquid in his hair. Nothing could stop him now.

Then he saw him. Or more accurately, them.

OK, maybe just her.

As he left the lockers, there, at one end of the field was his team. He could jog over and be the star player, like usual. Making the team would be definite.

Or, however, he could head to the other end, miss the start, and possibly not make the team at all because he had a hand in starting a fight.

With a heavy sigh and a last longing glance at the row of boys lined up neatly and ready to go, he began to run down to the other side, focused on the pair at the end.

He knew one of them. The other was a new face.

Duke was towering over a small blonde girl, speaking to her in quiet tones. As Hans ran nearer, he caught the tail end of their conversation.

"...and you'd better keep this up. They'll find out eventually, and then we're all screwed. Well, mostly you."

"I..." She hung her head, fists clenched. "Fine. As long as you follow my one term. Don't hurt-"

She was stopped mid sentence as Duke's fist slammed into her stomach, dropping her to the ground. "Shut up, Snow Queen! You'll do what I say, and you freaking do it no matter what!"

Hans's eyes widened, and he sprinted the final few feet, yelling to the boy, "Hey!"

As Duke's head turned sharply, he was met with a fist, reeling backwards with a growl. Stepping back, he surveyed Hans, spitting out, "Don't you know it's not nice to eavsedrop?"

"Don't you know it's not nice to hit a lady?" he replied with a sort of grin, pounding one hand into the other. "You should know better!"

"You don't know what you're doing, punk! Get out of the way!" Duke charged, swinging his fist wildly in an attempt to knock the boy aside.

Hans tutted, stepping to the left and kicking Duke's legs out from under him, finishing him with a blow to the temple. "Don't you know how to fight properly? Ameture."

He gave Duke one last kick, and turned to the fallen girl, extending his hand. "Hey, are you alright?"

She looked up, startled, and Hans froze. Blue eyes, platinum hair, pale skin... She was beautiful. Shaking his head, he knelt beside her, repeating, "Are you alright?"

"I-I... I don't..." She grabbed his hand, letting him pull her up, only to fall forwards into his arms with a squeak as her legs gave out. "Sorry!"

"It's fine," he laughed, one hand on her back, holding her where she was. "I'm Hans, by the way. Nice to meet you..."

"Elsa." She sighed, shifting in his arms to try and free herself. "I should really be going. You should too; you're missing the tryouts..."

Hans gave the boys at the other end a glance, shaking his head. "I can't. I've already missed half the practice. I'm disqualified for sure."

"But..." Elsa's eyes widened, and she jerked back as if burned. "You missed it because of me, didn't you?! It's my fault! Oh, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." She backed up, arms raised defensively. "Please forgive me! I didn't mean to-"

He grabbed her right hand, giving her a warm smile. "It's OK. It's just football."

"But..." Something seemed to flash in her eyes, and she said flatly, "Go over there."

"Excuse me?"

"There's still time. Go on, go to your teammates. I'll fix this OK?"

"I already told you, it's fine! I didn't need to-"

"Go!"

Dropping her hand, he turned, giving her one last worried glance before jogging down the field. The other boys were lining up again, which was kind of weird...

He stumbled, and for a second the lights seemed to go out. When his eyesight came back into focus, he reached the end of the line, turning to give Elsa one last what-on-earth-are-you-doing glance, but to his disappointment, she'd already disappeared.

"Glad you could make it on time, Hans!" Fredrik 'Mammoth' Leopald, the senior in charge of the team, clapped Hans on the shoulder, flashing him a thumbs-up. "I know you'll do great as always!"

Hans grinned, replying, "Thanks Fre-"

He said on time.

On time.

As in, not late.

Just what was going on here?

* * *

Kristoff tapped his foot impatiently. Waiting in line was one thing. Waiting in a line that was a mile long was another.

And waiting in a long line for a new video game that could easily sell out before you even came near the beginning was an entirely different universe.

Trying to ignore the chatters of customers around him, Kristoff banged his head against the store wall, wishing he'd brought his phone. But noooo, the stupid machine had to get left in his bag, which was consequentially still in his locker.

The loudspeaker blared out the first few chimes of the waiting bell, and the impatient line slowly shuffled forwards, muttering and grumbling the entire time. As the crowd settled, Kristoff stood on the tips of his toes, trying to see the front of the line, he could just make out...

Yes.

There it was. The bane of his existence, the sole purpose of his being. His destiny, his future, the one thing he lived for. He called it 'perfection'.

Others knew it as 'The Death Behind the Frozen Darkness'.

Anna labelled it as 'lame'.

One of the newest self-developed inventions, The Freedom Association had recently developed a type of virtual reality that could be wired straight into a headset or glasses. Portable gaming mixed with high-quality graphics, along with a heart wrenching story line made the ConNet the most popular thing since bacon on burritos.

Of course, that also meant that every kid in the entire town wanted one. And would you know it, the only place they sold it was at The Freedom Association HQ.

So after school that Friday, the day of the release, all the boys in high school, and many kids from the elementary schools, along with adults and gamer girls rushed down to the hundred-floored building downtown, trying to get the first one.

Speaking of which...

The doors slid open, and a boy stepped out, a sleek white clip attached to the frame of his glasses. Coughing nervously at the silence that had entered when he stepped out, he tapped the power button lightly, waiting as it went from blank to neon green.

Everyone held their breath.

"Oh my GOD! It works! AND I'M THE FIRST TO GET ONE!" The teen fist-pumped the air, mimicking swinging a sword around, and became the first non-AI being to ever enter the world of ConNet.

Everyone broke into applause, cheering even louder and the doors slid open, revealing a room piled high with shelves and shelves of ConNets. The mob rushed forwards, and hours later there wasn't a single one left.

The Freedom Association's profits that day stretched into the millions.

* * *

Kristoff managed to entangle himself from the crowd, leaning against the shelves with a sigh. $199 dollars (and 99 cents) down the tube. At least it was worth it, though. As soon as his money was carefully counted and put into the register, he had been sucked into the world of ConNet. Already he had created his customizable character, cleared the first part of the Death Story Arc, and added thirteen people to his active party.

He was about to fold the screen down to become one with the net again, but something caught his eye.

Two something, actually.

A blonde and a redhead, both girls, standing in the middle of the packed storeroom, arguing over headset.

Kristoff sighed, muttering to himself, "Can I go anywhere without bumping into one of these two?"

He flipped his screen down, calling up their IDs, 'snowman-hunter14' and 'RegaleRoyale'. To his surprise, there was also a painfully familiar tag connected with theirs, one Kristoff only knew too well.

After all, who forgot a name like ' . . .you'?

He sighed, entering their conversation with a wave of his hand. As soon as he did, a green bubble popped up with a ding on their screens, and every single person stopped what they were saying. Finally, the hesitant voice belonging to 'snowman-hunter14' asked, "Um, are you Kristoff?"

He groaned, and answered sarcastically, "No, obviously I'm someone else with the username 'reindeerz-r-better-dan-people' pretending to be him."

Anna laughed. "That's Kristoff alright. What's going on?"

"Uh, I'm getting the most popular thing since the internet. I assume you are too?"

There was a minuscule pause, and she replied shakily, "Something like that."

"Excuse me," Hans coughed awkwardly. "Uh, what are you doing in our conversation?"

"I... Uh, just saw Anna? She's my friend, so I thought..."

"I'm sorry, Kristoff." Anna sighed, mic crackling with faint static. "This was a kind of personal thing... We were discussing something."

Kristoff's heart sank. "Fine... See you later, I guess?"

"Sure." Elsa spoke for the first time, adding, "And don't try to hack us. Or listen in."

He bit his lip. "Alright. I get it. Goodbye." Tapping the bright green button on the side of his headset, he shot one last glance at the trio before pushing his way out of the building.

"I never needed them anyways," he mumbled.

...Right?

* * *

Elsa breathed a sigh of relief as Kristoff exited the conversation, watching his retreating figure before she turned back to Anna and her virtual companion Hans. "OK, for the last time, I can't. I wish I could, and I'm sorry, alright?"

Hans made an impatient noise, retaliating, "But what happened wasn't normal, Elsa! You did something, didn't you?! That wasn't natural!"

"I told you-"

"And you ran away without telling me anything almost three weeks ago," Anna cut in. "You've been avoiding me ever since! What's going on?"

"I..."

"What are you hiding?" he demanded.

"What aren't you telling us?" she yelled,

"What are you so afraid of?" they asked, question dripping from their lips and into her mind like poison.

"ENOUGH!" Elsa shoved her way through the mob, ignoring the two people on the other end of her ConNet. A blast of icy air hit her as she ran out into the snow, white powder swirling around her like fog. In one swift motion she yanked off the headset, stuffing it into her pocket as she continued running, not knowing where she was going, or caring.

She heard the door slam, faint and distant, and heard Anna call her name, but didn't turn back. She pushed through the storm, not seeing where she was, only moving forwards faster and faster and-

Her foot slipped.

The edge of the bridge dropped away, and before she could even scream, she began to fall, ground rushing up to meet her.

No!

There was a soft thud.

Then everything went black.

* * *

Kristoff pulled his jacket around himself, walking faster and faster. Mind wandering back to the others' conversation, he grit his teeth. He was just a part of everything as they were! Why didn't they understand he had the right to know?

Somewhere in the storm, off to the right, he heard a scream. Almost passing it off as nothing, he continued walking, but froze when he heard a familiar voice yell a just as familiar name.

Anna was out there.

Kristoff veered off course, charging into the swirling cloud, searching for the source. "Anna! Where are you?!"

"Kristoff?!" She was in front of him now. Rushing forwards, he opened his mouth to reply, only to be stopped as she screamed, "Wait!"

He froze.

"You can't go farther! There's a ledge..." Her voice cracked, and she managed to cry, "It's all my fault!"

"What? What happened?" He groped around for her, finally latching on to her sleeve and pulling her close. "Did Hans do something? Did Elsa?"

"N-no..." She wiped at her cheeks, clinging to him as powder blew at their jackets, coating their hair with white. "I... Well, Hans and I... We went too far. We were trying to get her to tell us why she was being so... Mysterious, I guess. We were pushing, and she couldn't take it, so she just ran..."

At this, Anna motioned to the drop beside them, barely visible in the storm. "I don't think she saw this... All I know is that when I chased after her, she kinda just... Disappeared." A thought struck her, and she choked, "Kristoff, what if she's hurt. Or worse?! What if she's-"

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down. It's probably not that far down. After all, the city can't just go leaving hundred foot drops lying around, can they?"

She gave a small giggle, corners of her mouth perking up. "No... I guess not."

"And if Elsa ran away again, she's going to have to learn she can't just hide from problems. We'll wait until tomorrow, and when you see her, talk to her rationally, alright? It'll work out."

"OK..." Anna smiled, wrapping her arms around the older boy in a hug. "Thanks, Kristoff."

He laced his arms around her, pulling her close. "You're welcome."

* * *

Hans stared at his screen, listening as the sounds of the two people he was conversing with abruptly died away. Seeing as they weren't coming back, he sighed, placing his ConNet on the desk and pulling down the blinds. It was almost night, which meant it was time for him to unwind a bit.

He groaned as his adoptive brothers' screaming trailed up the stairs, wishing they would be quiet for once. Sure, he was the thirteenth to be taken in, but was still the oldest, meaning that they were his responsibility while the caretakers were out. Sighing, he opened his bedroom door and stuck his head out, yelling, "Dylan! Mark! Behave yourselves! You're going to wake up Kevin!"

The eldest two grinned sheepishly, and dropped the 'borrowed' action figure. "Sorry, Hans," they chorused in unison.

"Thank you very much," he replied, slamming the door. As he reached for his bookshelf, a voice crackled to life from his ConNet, snippets reaching his ears, although it was barely audible due to the storm.

"...chased her... what if she just... disappeared... ledge and..."

Hans froze, slowly pacing over to the crackling device. "What in the-"

The signal was from RegaleRoyale.

"Elsa? What's going-"

There was a crash from downstairs, followed by screaming, and the boy jumped, accidentally thumbing the power button. Cursing, he threw open the door, yelling, "DYLAN! What did I just say?!"

* * *

Beep

Elsa jerked awake, eyes flashing open at the sound of her ConNet ending a call.

I guess I forgot to turn it off.

It was dark now, everything barely visible by the pale light of the moon. The city river lapped softly on the shore beside her, twenty feet away, rhythmic and gentle. Feeling beside her, she picked up the faintly glowing headset, which had fallen out of her jacket, and flipped up the display on the side.

"Wait, what? 10:57? Ah, no! Shoot..." She glanced around, barely making out a ladder built in to the side of the wall, which lead upwards and over to the city.

Elsa moved to get up, brushing several pounds of snow off in the process, and sighed, putting one hand in front of the other as she moved towards civilization.

Behind her, in the shadows, a light flicked on.

"Hello, Elsa."

She jerked back, eyes widening, and struggled to climb faster, reaching for the last rung-

A hand wrapped around her ankle, and she flinched, yanking herself over the ledge. With one last fear-filled stare at the figure at the bottom of the 10 foot drop, she ran, ran into the silent night.

The light dimmed, and a muffled voice crackled from the pit, "We have found her. We have found the Snow Queen."

* * *

Anna sat awake on her window ledge, staring out at the stars. As her mother had once said, before her untimely death, "If the sky's awake, and you're awake, then you know it's time to play."

She couldn't tear her mind away from the moment when Elsa vanished, guilt nagging at the back of her head. Where was she? Was she hurt? Was she mad at Anna? Why did she run?"

"Ahhghhgg... Go to sleep, sky," she complained, flopping back onto her bed. "'Cause if you don't, I don't, and I need my rest for tomorrow when I talk to Elsa about what happened... Aaaaand I just realized I'm talking to an inanimate object. Or being. Or just... Gah."

Anna twisted on her bed for a minute, trying to get comfortable, to no avail. When she got one part of herself comfortable, another would protest, and she eventually toppled out of the bed.

"Hmmph." As she got up, a green light caught her eye, making her freeze. Idea sparking, a wide grin moved across her face, and she whispered, "I wonder if anyone else is up right now..."

* * *

Kristoff dreamed about normal.

Normality, that is.

He dreamed of a life without mysteries, or secrets, or vanishing students, or whatever. Like what things used to be like, before the second term. When everything made sense.

Of course, though, when his ConNet blared out the first few notes of 'Fixer', he was picked up out of perfection and thrown back into the darkness of abnormal.

Also known as life.

Ready to give the person on the other name a very angry piece of his mind, he placed the headset over his ears and barked, "What?"

"That's no way to treat a friend, Kristoff..." Anna pouted, though he could tell from her tone she was just playing around.

"Anna, it's freaking 2:30 in the morning."

A pause. Then... "So?"

He slapped his forehead, and stressed, "It's 2:30. IN THE MORNING. People are trying to SLEEP."

"Oh... So, I should speak quietly, then?"

"That's not the point!"

He could almost hear her don't-care shrug. "Whatever."

"Why on earth are you even calling me, anyways?"

"Well, these are kinda new, and I can't fall asleep, so..."

"Anna, have you actually tried?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Like, try-tried."

She paused. "Well... Kinda. Sorta. Maybe. It's just I'm so worried about Elsa, ya know? Like maybe she doesn't come back? Or maybe she's mad at me? Or... Something! I don't really know, and honestly, Kristoff... I'm kinda scared."

The boy froze. Whoa. That escalated quickly. In the most gentle voice he could manage, he said, "It's OK to be scared. Everyone has their fears. Sometimes things don't work out, sometimes they do. You just have to let time take its route and work stuff out itself, OK?"

"O-OK..."

"And Anna?"

"...Yeah?"

"You've got a good heart."

He could almost hear her blushing. At least, he hoped he almost could. After a moment, she quietly mumbled, "Thanks. See you..."

Click

Kristoff shook his head half exasperatedly, half amused. Girls were so complicated. But then again, so was everything else.

* * *

Elsa hated clocks.

Not the physical representation of them, per say, but the embodiment that they constantly reminded you of. The pressure that they held, the way they forced time onwards with a flick of their arms. The agony that built up every day as she watched a clock, any clock, slowly count down the seconds until she was almost dying of fear and terror.

So yes, she hated clocks. Why?

Even she didn't know.

That day, when she was in that ever-familiar last period, fifteen minutes after three, she stood to leave. Not a single head looked up, used to her routine disappearances, and she made it out the door, like usual. The hall clock ticked. She walked faster, biting her lip.

Finally, Elsa made it to the end of the corridor. Glancing over her shoulder, she stepped into darkened hall off to the left, ducking into a small room on the side. After passing through another series of doors, she entered into a chamber made completely of metal, small lights along the floor. Within stood a circular bubble-like object, fastened to the wall, two circular ports indented on the front.

She took a breath. "One minute. That's it."

But...

Duke wanted more. As much as possible. If she didn't give it up, then the one person she cared about...

With her heart pounding, she flicked the switch on the machine and turned the knob all the way to the right. It couldn't be that bad. He couldn't possibly... Hands shaking, she pulled off her gloves and placed her hands on the device, squeezing her eyes shut.

"A-activate..."

The doors slid shut. The light flicked off.

Then all was silent.

* * *

Kristoff paced outside his locker, waiting. The nagging thought that appeared yesterday had exploded into an all-out itch, and he struggled to think off what it was.

Something from last period. Something about Elsa. Something about... What?

He slammed his fist into the locker, irritated, mumbling nonsensical words under his breath. Grabbing his bag and throwing on his coat, he stormed out into the cold, breath hanging in clouds around him.

Why did Anna have to skip school today? She had the perfect opportunity to talk with Elsa, but she stayed home...

To yell at her, or not to yell at her. That is the question.

The burning itch erupted with more intensity, almost driving the boy mad. Practically seething, he whipped out his headset, jammed it on his head, and mashed the power button, yelling into the mic, "Call 'snowman-hunter14'!"

"Did you say, 'Call bros and men for tea?'"

"Wha- No! Call 'snowman-hunter14'!"

"Did you say, 'Call no men under four trees?'"

"Ahhgh!" Kristoff swore, cursing, "Work, you stupid machine!"

"Did you say, 'Call snowman-hunter14'?"

He stared at the ConNet, dumbfounded. "Uh... Yes. Yes! I did."

"Connecting..."

* * *

Anna flinched as her headset buzzed, almost jumping from the shock. Composing herself, she pressed the side button and whispered, "Hello?"

"Where were you today?! You said you would talk to Elsa calmly about this, and-"

"Shh! Quiet! I'm kind of busy right now! Can you, um, call me back or something?" she pleaded hopefully. "Please?"

"What are you doing that's so important that you skipped an entire DAY of school? I swear, if you've just been moping around, I'll-"

"SHHH!" Anna glanced around fervently, and mouthed almost silently into the mic, "Look, this is really important. It's even worth skipping out on Elsa, alright? I promise, I'll be there tomorrow, OK?"

"Anna."

"Uh, yeah?"

"What are you doing." It was less of a question than a commanding statement.

She sighed. "Look, you can't tell, OK? Because, well, I'm in the west hallway, across from the no-access room two doors down."

"WHAT? You skipped school for THIS?"

"No, but you see, I WAS here today! Just... sorta hiding in a closet with my phone."

"WHAT?!"

"You see, I saw-"

"It doesn't matter! What is the point of hiding in a FREAKING CLOSET all day? Checking out the cleaning materials or something?"

"Kristoff, be quiet!"

"No! You are bordering on crazy, and I will not let-"

"Elsa went into the forbidden classroom," Anna burst out. "I'm waiting for her to come out, OK? Now shut it!"

Kristoff froze. "Wha..."

"Don't freak out!"

"I'm... I'm not..." His eyes widened. "That's it!"

"What's what?"

"The itch! The nagging, annoying little itch! I finally remember!"

"...I don't follow."

Kristoff ran into the school, not caring who he bumped into, talking the whole way. "Listen, I always thought something was up when Elsa left the classroom early, right?"

"Right..."

"But I never knew exactly what! But when you said that she went into that classroom, something clicked! What I was missing wasn't the fact that she was leaving, it was where she was going!"

"Oh... OH!"

"No one knew what she was doing in those minutes she left! No one ever thought to ask, and the teachers either did know, or didn't care!"

Anna made a shuffling noise from her end, and there was a loud click, followed by a groaning creak. "So if she's been going in here the whole time, then-"

"Then the answer to our questions lies behind that door."

* * *

Elsa bit her lip as a radiant blue light burst from her fingers, trying not to black out. The first time she did, she had ended up in a locked classroom for an entire night. It was not a pleasant way to go to sleep.

She mentally counted down while watching the timer, machine's hum growing louder and louder as it absorbed even more of the power she put forth. Each second ate away at her vision, slowly tinging the room a crimson red, the ceiling starting to spin.

At the halfway mark, Elsa collapsed. On her knees with her hands locked above her head, she felt her power slowly draining away. The timer wasn't visible, so she had no way to know when it would stop, and only a few thoughts that ran through her head actually made sense among the haze of pain.

At least it's working.

Oh God, why?

I am never doing this again. No matter what.

But the last was a lie. She knew that she would endure the same agonizing process again and again, if it meant saving the last spark of hope she had.

The last spark of salvation.

The cuffs retracted. The lights flashed on. Slumping to the ground, Elsa let herself rest a moment, before unsteadily drawing herself to her feet, leaning on the wall for support.

Well, that was enlightening.

The doors slid open.

* * *

Kristoff yanked Anna out of the closet, ignoring her protests, and rammed his shoulder to the door, trying to force it open.

"C'mon..."

"Uh, Kristoff?" Anna tried to reach forwards, but he held out a hand, shouldering the door again.

"I'm concentrating. Don't distract me." He shouldered the door again, and winced. "It's a little... Sturdy."

Another ram.

"Uh, you know there's a-"

"Shh!"

After a few more seconds of fruitless shoving, Anna sighed, walking over to the side of the door and pressing the button, causing the door to slide open with an ominous hiss.

"There's a button, genius."

He blinked. "Oh... I knew that."

"You did not!"

"Whatever. At least it's open now."

They turned, Kristoff half expecting a creepy monster of some sort to yank them into an abyss of nothingness. Instead, however, a small corridor led to another door, this one seemingly locked from the inside.

He groaned. "Well this is just great. I think I'm starting to hate doors now."

"I've got this one!" Anna ran up to the door and leaped at it, shoulder aimed above the middle panel...

...just as Elsa opened the door, causing the two girls to collide in the middle, sending them both to the floor.

"Ow."

Elsa blinked for a moment, and gave a small smile to Anna. "We really need to stop meeting like this."

"Omigosh! I'm sorry! Again!" Untangling herself from the older girl, she scooted back, a sheepish look plastered on her face. "So... Next time, knock first?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow, smirking, and replied, "Yes, that'd be nicer than another crash landing."

"Hey! I said sorry!"

Interrupting, Kristoff nudged Anna impatiently, whispering, "Aren't you going to ask?"

"About what?"

"About..." He trailed off, lost in thought. Yes, there were so many questions, but how to put them? Well, simple first, right?

"Why are you in here, and what are you doing?" he finally managed, sorting out his thoughts. "This is off-limits to everyone, you know."

Her smile disappeared faster than she had yesterday, replaced with an icy frown. "I know. I have my reasons."

"OK, fine... What about yesterday? Where did you go? What happened when you slipped off the edge?"

Elsa paled, eyes widening, lips parted in a silent 'oh'. "I... Nothing. I just blacked out for a bit. That's all."

"You blacked out?" Anna scrambled to her feet, hands over her mouth. "I didn't mean to make you run off! This is all my fault! Oh, did it hurt? Are you alright? Did I-"

"Anna. It's not your fault, no, it didn't hurt for very long, and I'm fine, alright? Just forget about it." She turned for the door, clutching her bag protectively. "I need to go."

"But I still have questions!" Kristoff protested, blocking the door. "Just a few more!"

She paused, eyes narrowed. "One question."

"Do you promise to answer?"

"What do you think?"

"Please?"

Eyes rolled. "Fine."

"What are the gloves for?"

Anna perked up, grinning. "Oh yeaaaaah! What are they for, anyways?"

Elsa shrugged, and pushed open the door, exiting into the hall. "Beats me."

"Bwah?! You said-"

"I didn't say when. Now goodbye."

Kristoff face-palmed. "I fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

He bashed his head against the doorframe, instantly regretting it as a white hot bolt of pain shot through his temples, making him wince. "OK... Not one of my best ideas."

Anna giggled, leaning against the wall to contain herself. "You think?"

* * *

Olaf snuffled around on the ground, waiting for Elsa to come back outside. He lifted his tiny head to the snow and poked his nose into it, yanking his head back as the cold hit him. Of course, being the curious little kitten he was, he glared playfully at the offending pile before jumping into it with a joyful meow.

Sploosh

Shaking his head, spraying water everywhere, he clambered through the snow, proudly stamping on the remains of his enemies. So caught up in his romp outside, he didn't notice a shadow fall across his face, nor the unfamiliar scent of someone who was certainly not Elsa.

"Here kitty kitty..."

A bag folded over the oblivious kitten, who struggled for a moment, before deciding that it couldn't be that bad to explore a new place, right?

Right?

Seconds later, Duke threw the wriggling bag into the trunk of his car, jumping into the driver's seat with a thump. "Dukie's got some plans for you, cat..."

With the high-pitched squeal of the tires, the black vehicle sped off into the rapidly darkening night.

* * *

"Olaf? I'm done with my meeting. It's time to go."

Silence.

"Olaf?"

Elsa flipped her ConNet on, shining the side light over the snow for signs of the rebellious kitten. "Where are you?"

Tiny tracks led into the side of the bank, which led into a puddle. From there on, the snow was trampled so flat from the numerous students that the paw prints were impossible to distinguish from any other mark.

Straightening up, she walked over the lawn, worry gnawing at her stomach. He was probably fine, right? Just an adorable little fuzzball, all alone or lost or wandering around or something.

Swallowing nervously, Elsa tried to distract herself by fiddling with the different commands on her headset.

Rainbow lights. Music mixer. VR Vision. X-Ray. Scan mode. Video camer-

Scan mode?

Tapping the filter, Elsa looked over the snow, watching as the computer put together a series of incidents that could have happened. Soon the screen was so crowded with possibilities that she had to zoom in on the footprints, excluding all other things from the screen.

Tracks highlighted in orange, they led into the middle of the grounds, then simply... Vanished.

Frowning, the girl tapped again, this time focusing on a small range around the prints. After scanning for a few seconds, another series popped up, this time adding a pair of blue marks that moved towards the orange and surrounded it, making it disappear.

The gnawing in Elsa's stomach increased, but she shook it off. Someone just probably took him to the animal shelter or something. After all, no one could possibly have any need for a little kitten, anyways.

She sighed, worry still lingering, and began to make her way through the dim, silent streets, coat hanging loosely from her shoulders. Another confrontation with Anna and Kristoff had left her more exhausted and nervous than ever. Even she was tiring of secrets.

Raising her head to the skies, she managed one last question, one last call to her missing friend.

Olaf, where are you?

No answer came.

Only time would tell.

* * *

**Woop woop! One week! New record!**

**You guys are lucky. I've been running of half a tank of sleep the whole year, just to write this. BOW BEFORE ME WITH REVIEWS, OR I WILL TERMINATE YOUR PEOPLE!**

**JK. But please review if you liked!**

**Thanks to all who did, and all the followers. You are epic awesome-tastic!**

**Next chapter might be out in two weeks. School is... Yeah.**

**TEDDY DA HERO, OVER AND OUT!**


	3. Chapter 3

So...

That day I learned that Elsa would sneak away to some forbidden classroom, that she was still having rapid mood swings, and that she could be very cunning at times.

I also found out that Anna was fond of broom closets.

Then, later, I got a message from Hans. HANS! He said something about a transmission from Elsa last night, and wanted to know what was up. I, being the perfect friend, admitted (Well, maybe lied) that I knew nothing.

At least, I thought I did.

I just didn't realize that the pieces of the puzzle were in front of me the entire time.

* * *

_Rendalle Manor, 7 years earlier..._

"Mom? Dad?"

Anna peeked out from behind the corner, staring wide eyed at the sight before her.

Her mother on the floor.

Her father being pinned to the wall by a faceless figure.

A shadowy form bleeding onto the carpet, lifeless and cold.

"Mommy!"

The faceless man turned, and with a flick of his hand, a bullet exploded into existence, penetrating through the air straight towards her heart-

"Noooo!"

Anna bolted awake, screaming. After half a second, her six-and-a-half year old mind realized it was just a dream, and attempted to tell her that fact before she woke everyone up.

Then she smelled the smoke.

A thick cloud of the inky black substance rolled into the room, coating the walls and floors and everything else in a layer of soot and ash. Churning malevolently, it slowly moved towards the terrified girl, within it burning the tell-tale flickering flames of fire.

Anna scrambled out of bed, heading for the door, pushing it open and rushing out, running away from the fog pouring from her window. She ran down the stairs, towards the end of the hall, and into her parents room, only to find-

They were gone.

"Mommy! Daddy! Where are you?!"

The door crackled, enveloped in flames, and splintered from the heat, the towering inferno bursting through the door. The girl screamed, and ran for the window, but to her horror it was locked in such a way that her small hands couldn't fasten around it.

Sobbing, she curled into a ball at the end of the room, as far away from the fire as possible. She scrunched he eyes shut, whispering prayers under her breath until she started to cough, smoke filling her lungs.

The sparks lapped at her pyjama sleeve.

Uncomfortable warmth engulfed Anna, followed by a burning, excruciating pain. She cried out, the conscious part of her mind screaming for mercy, darkness eating away at her vision slowly, until all that was left was...

Don't worry.

Warm arms lifted her out of the pain-induced haze, cradling her amidst the flames. She heart the click of the window latch, and a blast of the cool night air hit her face, relieving her somewhat.

It's OK. I've got you.

Hands placed her on the edge of the roof, a gentle press of lips to her cheek the moment after. She groaned, struggling to make out her saviour, but her eyes wouldn't open.

Tell them I'm sorry.

The window clicked again. She felt the vibrations as the manor began to collapse, too exhausted to care, only intent on finding out who on earth her mysterious rescuer was.

Her heart leaped in her throat.

The window had clicked again. No one needed to close a window, unless they were going back inside...

Unless they were going back inside to die.

The roof gave way, and the entire manor began to crumble, fire igniting into a flaming inferno, enveloping the manor, and taking the world along with it.

* * *

Anna blinked. Shock and realization hit her, and she closed her eyes, tears trickling from the corners of her eyelids.

The memory again. Or was it a dream? She didn't know exactly. So many events of her childhood were blurred, no distinct line between reality and illusion.

Did she have a saviour? Maybe not. There were no others found at the scene. At least, no one alive...

The girl sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes. It was early morning, her alarm not ready to go off yet, but the disturbing memories were too much to bear, and besides, who wanted to have to face them again?

She yawned, then stumbled forwards, yanking open her closet and randomly grabbing an assortment of jeans and sweaters. After smoothing out her static-like bed head, she swept her lipgloss across her lips once, before running into the bathroom with an armful of clothes, struggling to multitask.

After all, when a girl's gotta go, she really does have to go.

* * *

Elsa grabbed her bag, stepping onto the city bus, glancing at the Freedom Association logo emblazoned on the side. After pushing her way towards a seat, (which wasn't hard, since the bus wasn't crowded, and people tended to avoid her anyways) she grabbed onto the hand rail, finger hovering over the "stop" button.

Just in case.

"Why hello again. Fancy meeting you here!"

Hans grinned at her from across the aisle, and she raised an eyebrow, silently asking, "What are you doing here?"

"My car broke down," he responded. "I had to take the bus today. Some jerk thought it would be great to cut into my engine and fuse every single wire together into one massive hunk of wiring."

"Sounds tough."

"You bet it is. Have you seen what they charge for repairs? Guess who's going hungry for the next 17 days?"

Elsa laughed quietly, enjoying one of the fleeting moments when she could actually be normal, feel normal, act normal. When she could blend in, maybe even make a friend, for once.

As she listened to Hans ramble on good-naturedly, she couldn't help but notice just how perfect his eyes were in this light, and the way he gave that crooked half grin that silently added, "It's all in good fun" to everything he said.

Maybe he-

After a few mental slaps, Elsa set herself back on track to what she was dealing with that morning.

Anna.

* * *

_"Will she ever recover?"_

_"...I don't know for sure."_

_"But she has to! She's lost everything! Her mother, her father..."_

_"I'm sorry. We're trying our best, but..."_

_"Then your best is not enough!"_

_She groaned quietly, cracking open her eyes the slightest bit. What happened? Fire, smoke, ashes... Then what?_

_"She'll need a new family. I've found a couple that could take her in... They're inventors, and the wife travels a lot, but they're willing care for a child, as they were unable to have one..."_

_"And she'll be safe?"_

_Scrunching her eyes shut, she prayed silently that she was just imagining things. Everything was alright. Everyone was fine. This was just a bad dream, and-_

_The next words would haunt her for years to come, sealing her fate._

_"She will be. For our sake."_

* * *

"Kriiiiistoff!"

Anna lurched towards the boy, stumbling in front of him moments before righting herself, coughing to cover her awkwardness.

"So...?"

"So." She brushed her uniform idly, adding, "Here we are again, huh?"

"Well, lets see. Me, check. Obnoxious freshman, check."

"Hey!"

"Topic of the conversation that's about be started is Elsa, check."

"How'd you know?"

He shrugged. "Mm, maybe it has to do with the fact that we're determined to find her secrets? Or um, let's see, we kind of NEVER ACTUALLY GOT ANY ANSWERS YESTDAY!"

"...Why are we so intent on this again?"

"Well, duh! We're trying to-"

He stopped, frowning. "What are we trying to do here, anyways? Let's say we find out why she has that cat, the gloves, sudden mood swings, and sociopathic behaviour. Then what? What happens next?"

Anna shrugged. "I dunno. I was asking you."

"Well this is just great!" Kristoff leaned against the school wall, head tilted up towards the sky. "We've been chasing down secrets for what? FUN? What if there's some sort of reasonable explanation or whatever! This whole mess of a month has been just chaos, and this is what it boils down to?!"

"Actually, it was more like three weeks..."

"Whatever! I just want to know: is there a point to this?"

Anna opened her mouth to say something in retaliation, but was interrupted by the arrival of the second bus. Waving away fumes, she coughed into her arm as a flood of students moved off, leaving only an elderly couple and a snoring boy no one bothered to wake up.

As the vehicle drove away, Kristoff muttered, "There's another thing we can add to the list of completely insane and yet totally normal things."

"Whuh?"

He pointed, and Anna followed his line of sight to where Hans and Elsa stood, conversing quite casually, Elsa even smiling for once.

"I don't get-"

Her eyes widened when Hans attempted to take Elsa arm, getting roughly pushed away in the process. Undeterred, he shrugged, still grinning, and opened the door for her, following her into the school.

Anna's jaw dropped. "How does Snow Queen managed to pick up ONLY THE HOTTEST GUY IN SCHOOL?!"

"I thought I was..." Kristoff pouted, making his way for the door.

"Oh, shut up."

* * *

_Fire._

_How she hated fire now._

_It tore away everything. Turned her life around. No matter how hard she tried to forget, the image of white hot flames surrounding her still lingered in the back of her mind._

_She remembered the cool open air of the roof, yes, but even more so the inferno that engulfed the house merely seconds later. She remembered the sounds of cracking wood, the sound of the roof caving in, the sound of everything she once knew being buried under three feet of hot, hot ash._

_Oh, how she hated fire._

_She remembered falling as the tiles gave way beneath her, unable to scream through her soot-coated throat, air rushing and rushing and-_

_And then there was pain, and then there was darkness. Nothing more, nothing less. How long it was, she didn't know but when she woke, she woke to the sounds of the hospital, gentle beeps of the hospital monitor slowly rousing her back to consciousness._

_She wanted things to go back to normal. She wanted to know why everything had to go up in flames in the first place._

_She wanted her family back._

_When the pair outside spoke their next words, she almost felt her heart shatter._

_They're never coming back._

_In the darkness of the hospital ward, where no one could see her suffering, two silent tears dripped slowly down her cheeks._

* * *

Hans sighed as Elsa gave him a small wave, disappearing down the corridor that lead to her homeroom. How could he not have fallen for her? Flawless, like a thin sheet of glass, yet mysterious and openly alone. She was almost impossible to figure out, with nothing to go by to find a common interest at least, but he was sure he could make a way.

After all, Hans liked a challenge.

Crossing towards his room, he paused, one startling fact jumping to the front of his mind. Just where was that cat she always had? Olaf, was it?

Where was he?

* * *

Olaf mewled hungrily, pawing at the burlap sack, tiny claws only scratching the surface of the thick material before shedding back into air. He let out another whine, flopping down on his rump as he waited for someone to open the bag and and free him. Being cooped up in an enclosed space for hours and hours wasn't very entertaining for the kitten.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, there was the snap of the trunk and the jingle of keys, before he was unceremoniously jerked into the air, two rough voices conversing beside him.

About time. Now he could get to exploring, and see everything!

Well, if they would only let him out of the damn bag.

* * *

Kristoff yawned, sleepily scratching his pen against the paper, shooting glances at Elsa every few seconds. Her back was to him, blonde locks cascading down her shoulders, casually filling out her test, occasionally glancing up to the board to make sure she followed something right.

Seemed normal enough.

Kristoff knew it was fake.

She held herself differently, closer, more withdrawn. Even after only three weeks, he could distinguish the unique quirks that made her special, like the way she would jerk back just the slightest when someone tried to come near her, or the way she would sometimes use her left hand for writing, instead of her right. How she bit her lip when she was nervous, how her voice would rise just the slightest when panicked, how she would almost blush when someone complimented her, tinges of red not far off from her pale cheeks.

No, he was not a stalker.

These were things he just picked up on, that made her, well, her. And today, instead of a usual cool and aloof shield, he finally saw a side of the Snow Queen he never expected to see.

One of guilt.

Her eyes were always darting towards the door, to the floor, around the room, looking everywhere nervously, as if for an escape. He knew that something was up, and even though he had no business with her, Kristoff was going to find what.

Hopefully.

* * *

Hans groaned, pounding his forehead against his palm, muttering nonsense words under his breath. "Go to this party, they said. You'll do fine on the test, they said. You can finally pick up a steady girlfriend, they said."

Now here he sat, girlfriend-less and stumped as to what he should do. Lean over to right and peek off someone else's test? No, getting caught would be the death of him. Cause a distraction and somehow get the answers? Would work great, except he DIDN'T HAVE A DISTRACTION.

Please, kill me now.

After nothing happened, he sighed, staring at the four-paged test on his desk that contained nearly no pencil marks but his name, grade, and the date.

Oh, and maybe a probably incorrect educated guess for number two.

There goes thirty percent of my grade this term.

Letting out another groan, Hans tipped back in his chair, absentmindedly putting his bags together as he thought. "If I take an extra class next Saturday, and get at least 97% on the next quiz... I might scrape through with a B-... Eh, close enough."

Standing, he threw his bag over his shoulder and placed his test on the teacher's desk as he went out. Only about seven students remained as he closed the door, the rest already finished, or having given up as he did.

He took a quick look at the clock hanging above the door, and checked his timetable. "I have time for a quick stop at the lunchroom..."

And maybe she'll be there too.

* * *

_Standing in front of the ashes of her former home, only her new guardian (not parent yet, he didn't deserve it right now) to stand by her side, she let out a small whimper as she fought the burning pain within her chest, trying to keep in tears._

_Among the rubble she could see torn paintings, charred wood, shattered ceramic, everything that she once owned or knew simply not existing anymore._

_The man (who still had not yet become her father) gently wrapped his arm around her, and she leaned into it gratefully, feeling a single part of warmth in the cool darkness that was the tragedy._

_How was she still living?_

_She didn't know. She didn't have a saviour; no one could have saved her._

_...Right?_

* * *

Of course, she wasn't there.

Spotting two familiar faces, he headed over, waving in response as they noticed him. He cleared a spot beside them and sat down, smiling. "How's it going?"

Kristoff shrugged. "Could be better. I tried to talk to Elsa after class, but she just panicked and backed off. I lost her in the halls."

"Same," Anna agreed. "We're trying so hard to help her. At least, I think we're helping. You can't really tell, you know with her being a Snow Queen and all..."

"Elsa," Hans and Kristoff automatically corrected, giving each other a look that said God-why-did-we-say-that-together immediately after.

Anna giggled. "Is that chemistry I see...?"

"Ew! No!" the blonde yelped, jerking back from the other boy. "That is wrong on so many levels, Anna!"

"I wholeheartedly agree," Hans muttered, sliding away from the still-smiling girl. "Where do you get your ideas from?"

"The internet?"

Two face-palms occurred seconds later.

* * *

_"I hope that you're happy here. I know it's hard, but my wife and I will try to do what's best for you."_

_She drew a shaky breath, young mind still unable to process the speed at which things moved. "O-Ok."_

_"Your room's down the hall, to the left. We tried to get things that you might like. If you're not fine with them, just tell us, alright?"_

_She nodded, still standing rooted to the spot._

_"Do you need me to escort you?" He moved forwards as if to take her arm, but she jerked away._

_"I just want to be alone." Finally moving, she bolted for the final door, wrenching it open and slamming it, sinking down against the door. For what seemed like the thousandth time that day, tears began to flow steadily, forming the familiar tear tracks she had worn throughout the entire day._

_Things had changed. Never again would they be the same._

* * *

Elsa ran from the crowds, ducking into the bathroom and slamming a stall door shut, crouching on the lid. Fear swept over her, and she cursed internally.

"Dammit... I said I wouldn't screw this up again..."

Tearing off one torn and charred glove, stuffing it into her pocket, she flexed her fingers, making sure that they were still working. After a few experimental rotations, she buried her head in her hands, tangling her fingers in her hair.

"Gloves were supposed to help conceal it. Why didn't they work this time? One more step and I would have-"

She drew a shaky breath. "No. I'm not going to lose this again. I'm not going fail."

Trembling, she reached for the stall door to unlock it, but froze as footsteps approached, the sound of the door being thrown open reaching her.

"Man, did you see what Jacob did out there? What a jerk!"

High pitched, feminine laughter filled the air as the two girls leaned by the mirror, gossiping.

"I know! He, like, dumped her in the middle of the hall! Everyone could see! If it was me, I would have been, like, sooooo humiliated."

"At least he's not like that jerk Hans. Have you seen him? He flirts with every girl, goes on one date, and never speaks to them again!"

"Of course! He just a regular little player, isn't he!"

"Mmhmm, you know it."

Elsa dug her nails into her palms in fury, ignoring the feeling scraping against her skin. He's not a player. He's just lonely. Why can't anyone see that?

* * *

_"No! You're lying!"_

_"I'm sorry. I thought you-"_

_"I didn't! You had no right to withhold this from me!"_

_"Sweetie, you're thirteen now, you can't just-"_

_"I can do whatever damn well I want! You lied to me, took everything away, and then just APOLOGIZE?!"_

_Silence. Then the door slammed, a crashing echo rattling the silverware and dislodging the paintings from their hooks._

_Lucian Rendalle stared at the trembling door for a moment before sinking to the floor against the wall, head tilted upwards._

_"I am so, so, SO sorry..."_

_Outside, the storm raged on._

* * *

Anna gently lowered her hands above the piano keys, stroking the notes with an almost loving touch. The instrument was her escape, her place of refuge, where she could and had poured her heart out, countless times.

She tapped the first few keys with a grace not normally shown by her hands, and moved slowly into a heart wrenching ballad, the music almost telling a story with the many expressions and sounds.

High intro.

She remembered the laughter and adventures that had gone along with her childhood, the time she spent simply enjoying life as it was.

Chromatic bridge.

She remembered the times she had been comforted by her family when things went wrong, receiving encouragement and love in an almost never-ending supply.

Single notes, single hand.

She remembered their promise, when they kissed her goodnight, and murmured, 'See you tomorrow, my snowflake'. The touch of their hands on her shoulders, the soft press of lips to her cheek.

Loud, long chords, with a frantic minor melody.

She remembered the dream, the smoke, crying, running, screaming, yelling, burning, falling-

Her hands slipped. The notes clashed, and the ballad stopped, leaving the music room in silence. Another tear escaped, not for the first time, not for the last, splashing quietly on the keys.

No matter how high a wall she built when others were around, on this day, when she was alone, Anna would never be able to control the feeling that tore at her heart, that ripped away the very person she was.

Today was the anniversary of their deaths.

* * *

_He heard her before he saw her._

_Lucian pushed open the door slowly, watching the girl at the piano play a soft, haunting melody that sent a shiver up his spine and brought a tear to his eye. He could see the dusting of snow that still coated her hair from her run into the storm, and the red marks along her hands that would surely lead to frostbite._

_He stood, listening, as she finished, and when she turned, opened his arms in apology, in acceptance, in mourning, in love._

_She walked towards him first, then faster, then ran until she was clutching to his shirt, tears staining his tie, sobbing into his shoulder._

_"I'm sorry!"_

_He smiled sadly._

_"I am too."_

* * *

Elsa heard the song emanating from the music room, and paused. It was almost spellbinding, enchanting in a way, how the notes sounded, the cool, clear key strokes bringing forth a beautiful tune.

Who was playing after school at this time?

I thought I was the only one here...

The music stopped abruptly, with no conclusion or cadence. Frowning, the blonde pushed open the door, immediately jerking to a stop as a long, low creak filled the silent room.

Anna didn't bother to turn, simply choking out softly, "They died today. Seven years ago."

Elsa fumbled for an answer, and when she didn't give one, the younger stood, closing the piano.

"I was only six. Funny, isn't it? I can be so cheerful on the outside, but on the inside I'm reduced to... Well, this." She gestured to the tear stains on her cheeks. "No one knows, of course. I've been acting normal the entire day."

"...They d-died?"

Anna pulled her bag from the ground and looked Elsa in the eyes, not caring who it was anymore. "In a fire. The building collapsed on them."

"I-I'm sorry..."

"It was hard. I..." Her lip trembled, and she made a movement as if she was going to catch the older girl in a hug, but stopped herself. "I was never really the same after. I still miss them a lot."

"Your parents?"

Anna's hands trembled. "Yeah..."

"I-I..." Elsa's eyes darted around nervously, and, when seeing no one, she bit her lip, hesitantly holding her arms out. "Are you OK?"

The younger embraced her, arms wrapped around her neck, tangled in her hair, whispering, "I'll be fine tomorrow. I'm sorry I'm like this, it's just-"

"I understand... Anna." Elsa pulled back, arms returning to her sides, wrapped around herself. "I know what it's like."

They shared a look, long and silent, sadness almost visible in the gradually darkening room. Then, wiping away another tear, Anna pushed past the blonde, leaving her standing alone with nothing but the piano.

When she was sure the other had gone, Elsa moved towards the instrument, sliding onto the bench. Her hands, still gloved, positioned themselves in the exact same spot Anna's had been. Then, without pressing the keys, she began to recreate the tune, still silent, still unmoving, only fingers dancing noiselessly over the ivory.

Both would forget the encounter the next morning.

* * *

_He watched her as she fell asleep in his arms, breathing softly, face that was once contorted in pain now smooth and relaxed. Gently lifting her small frame in his arms, he carried her towards the room at the end of the hall, placing her in the bed and tucking the covers overtop of her._

_"Goodnight," he whispered, brushing a few unruly strands of hair back from her forehead. "I love you."_

_Her eyes cracked open a fraction, bleary with sleep. Managing a small smile, she mumbled back, "I love you too... Daddy."_

_His heart nearly broke then, knowing that he could never replace her real father, no matter how hard he tried. Forcing a pained smile, he stood, gently shutting the door, listening the the soft sounds of her breathing deepen, until it was gentle and even._

_He loved her, yes. But he knew that he would never be enough._

* * *

Anna blinked, sitting up in bed, disoriented. "Wha..."

The entire day before had been a blur of feigned happiness and loneliness. She remembered fragments, yes, but specific details... No. What had happened? Seeing Kristoff. Elsa and Hans. Schoolwork, gossip, yadda yadda... A piano? That was new.

"Geez... So confusing..." She tried to sit up, but winced in pain as her head protested, falling back to the sheets. "Ow ow ow... What on earth happened?"

It doesn't matter.

The little voice in the back of her head urged her to get up, get ready, and drop the incident. One missing day couldn't hurt, right?

Go on.

Sighing, she swung herself over the side of the bed, falling face first on the rug as her legs gave out beneath her.

What a way to start the day.

* * *

As the sun peeked over the horizon, Elsa snapped awake, still staring at the two objects in front of her. Choose one, keep things the same. Choose two...

Wreck your entire life as you know it and put your life and everyone around you's life in danger.

Tough decision. Not.

Hand kept steady, she reached for the first, depressing the button to extend the tiny, minuscule points of the device. Lifting it to eye level, flicked the small dial until it read '24 H', waiting for the light to flash green.

Vibrant emerald.

"Commence?"

Elsa placed it against the side if her neck and sighed. "Confirmed."

The tiny needles shot out again, and her eyes flickered a moment, before she snapped awake, wrenching the device off and throwing it in the trash can beside her.

What the heck just happened?

Oh. Right.

Standing, the blonde shrugged her bag over her shoulders before exiting, no trace that she had ever been there except for the small memory suppressant laying empty in the trash behind.

It's for the best.

* * *

Kristoff darted through the halls, intent on making his way to the forbidden classroom before class started. Skidding on recently mopped floors, he barrelled around the corner, swerving around early teacher and the odd student or so he passed.

Finally, after what seemed like hours (Why did they place it smack dab in the middle of what was basically a maze?), he ran down the darkened hall, pressing the button for the off-limits room and rushing inside, shouldering the door with all his might.

Of course, it didn't open.

"Dammit..." Picking himself up, adrenaline wearing off, he ran his hands over the barrier, searching for an entryway, a hatch, scanner, anything.

His ConNet buzzed.

Groaning, he flipped it open, barking out irritatedly, "What?"

"Hi Kristoff. It's Hans."

"I think I noticed."

"Yes. Well, you've been searching for something about Elsa, right?"

Straight to the point, eh? "Yeah."

"Well, you might want to see this."

His stomach dropped. "Where are you?"

"I'm outside the hallway leading to the forbidden classroom. Judging by your signal, you're right-"

"Here."

Kristoff slid the outer door open with a bang, pleased to see Hans caught off guard for once. The auburn haired boy flinched, and caught himself, muttering, "Nice entrance."

"Thank you. I've been practicing. Now what is it?"

"Well, if you're in here, you probably already know..."

"Uh, no I don't."

Hans pointed upwards, just above the doorframe. "Then take a look."

There, plastered above the panelling was the same writing that had been on the demolished bulletin board, this time reading, "DON'T TRY ANYTHING".

Kristoff stared for a moment, before remarking dryly, "I don't know about you, but I think the school needs better security."

"I'm not going to argue with you on that one."

When they returned later that day, the words were replaced with another intricately engraved snowflake.

* * *

Duke tapped his fingers impatiently, staring at the frolicking kitten before him. So far, he had deduced that the animal was not going to listen to a word he said, and even when he begged Olaf with treats did the kitten not approach him, instead opting to chase a spider around the abandoned warehouse.

He frowned, leaning back on his so-called throne, although it was more like a pile of garbage. Old sliver-and-copper-like item were strewn about in a pile, with an ornate chair placed in the centre of the pile, seat worn out but not yet torn to shreds.

Fit for a king.

Or at least, future king.

He groaned with frustration, finally unleashing his anger as Olaf avoided him yet again. "WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN?!"

The cat paused, ears pricked. Then, as Duke sat back down, chest heaving, the white ball of fuzz pranced over and tackled his shoe, purring madly.

That's all it took. That's it. Hours of waiting to finally get his hands on this thing, and when he'd finally had enough-

"Well, f-"

* * *

_She was screaming, nightmares of flames and ashes and all things of hell overtaking her, gripping at her mind with tendrils of darkness. In her forcefully induced sleep she clutched at her temples, still crying out, pounding against the sides of the containment cell in vain._

_"Let me out! No!"_

_Even though she wasn't conscious, her words still fit the situation she had been shoved into. Still writhing in pain, she kept screaming, begging to be freed._

_"Please!"_

_He placed his hand on the barrier, knuckles white with suppressed emotion. Arms shaking, he turned, closing the door and muffling her yells, whispering over and over, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."_

_She gave one last shout before he slammed the lever, metal walls shooting down to surround the container, silencing everything._

_Walking briskly down the hall, finally the tears fell, and he wept, repeating, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."_

_That was the last time he went down the hall. And even when she was released, even when he saw her again, even when she didn't remember what she had been forced into, still he carried the burden, always chanting, "I'm sorry..."_

_That night was the night he finally broke._

_I'm sorry._

* * *

Anna shivered.

Of all things to forget that day, the worst was her coat. So wrapped up in trying to figure out the past, she almost forgot to even leave the house, until the sound of Lucian locking up the house jolted her out of her daydreams.

Tucking her hands around herself, she tried to walk faster, limited by her stiff legs and icy hands, breath fogging out into the air and hanging in clouds around her.

She heard the school bell ring a few blocks away.

"Dammit..." Anna started to sprint, tripping every so often over an outcropping piece of ice, managing to make it onto the grounds just as the doors slammed shut.

Leaping up the steps, she tugged on the handle, giving a frustrated grunt when it didn't open. As a precaution after St. Arin's sister school, St. Della's, had a safety incident in October, the doors now had to be locked whenever school started, and only unlocked for recognizable students or adults.

"Uh, hello? It's Anna of 9C. I'm late; I need to get in."

She released the intercom button, and after a brief static-filled pause, the secretary's voice droned, "Reason for tardiness?"

I was remembering the past. "My alarm didn't go off, ma'am."

"Is that true?"

No. "Yes, ma'am."

The doors buzzed, and swung open slowly, hall light flickering every second or so. Stepping in, Anna heard the intercom call back, "Don't be late again, young lady."

I will be. "I won't."

* * *

Kristoff stared at the new snowflake mark, standing on the ends of his toes to reach up and feel it. No sharp edges, no flaws... As if someone had dedicated hours and hours of work into it and yet somehow managed to fit it into the span of about a few minutes.

In simple terms, impossible.

He snapped a few photos with his ConNet, and filtered through various programs, trying to find an explanation.

Nope.

Zilch.

Nada.

Nothi- Wait...

There, around the edges, using the thermal imaging lens, was a small line of dark blue against neon green, stubbornly refusing to change colours. Kristoff reached up to brush the area, feeling it cool and smooth, and frowned, wondering why it was staying that way.

Shouldn't it have warmed up?

Still confused, he folded his ConNet away, giving the strange mark one last glance before slipping back to class, unaware of the creeping frost spreading across the doorframe.

* * *

_She waved at him, and he smiled, a small flutter of pride bursting from his chest, warming his heart just the slightest bit. She was growing up now. Almost fourteen and quite brilliant, ready for high school._

_Standing there, beautiful in her graduation dress, he felt his heart melt even more, staring fondly at the girl he been entrusted with and had raised from childhood._

_He loved her. So, so, so very much._

_Her name was called, and she gave him another half wave before stepping onto the stage, the standard applause from the crowds filling the air._

_He clapped the hardest, so she couldn't hear his heart breaking._

* * *

Elsa exited the forbidden room, exhausted, but managing to keep to her feet. She was getting used to the longer periods spent in the room, but was still struggling to keep up with the horrible draining sensation that accompanied the electric pull to her arms. Glancing up at the mark she had engraved above the frame, she moved for the end of the hall, only to be stopped by the clearing of a throat.

"Uh... Hi. Elsa."

She sighed. "What is it, Kristoff? I'm not answering any questions, I told you..."

"It's not a question. Look, I've been poking around, yes, but it's just curiosity. I know I'm a little stubborn and awkward at times, and I know you're getting frustrated with me, so..." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "If you want me, and Hans, and Anna to just drop the entire thing and leave you alone, you just have to say so."

Elsa blinked. This was not what she was expecting at all. "Uh... What?"

"You know, we've been irritating you, pushing your buttons, blah blah blah. Remember?"

"Well yeah, but, it's fine, you don't have to give up or anything. I just can't give you the answers to your questions."

"Shouldn't we just give up, then, instead of trying for a fruitless answer?" Kristoff smiled sadly. "I mean, we're kind of annoying, I admit... And even if I did find out, what would I do with the information?"

She sighed, turning away, murmuring, "Some things aren't worth giving up on."

"What?"

Her footsteps died away, leaving another question, and another missing puzzle piece along with them.

* * *

Hans groaned, pulling his pillow overtop of his head, trying to muffle the shouts of his brother's as they threw popcorn at each other, not at all focused on the movie. Family movie night was fine. Family movie night with two tired adults, three teenagers, seven elementary schoolers, a preschooler, a toddler, and an infant was not.

Oh, how he hated movie night.

Picking bits of popcorn of his sleeve, Hans stood, giving the movie on last don't care glance. Disney, the only thing appropriate around there for such a large age range. Grabbing a glass of water, he made his way up the stairs, closing his door and sinking down to the ground in relief.

After a few seconds, he scooted over to his desk chair and dragged himself up, pulling on his ConNet. Maybe some Mozart would drown out the screams from downstairs.

"-to DROP THE BASS!"

Hans yanked off the ConNet, partially in shock, partially in pain, as he muttered angrily, "Never let Kristoff tamper with your soundtracks. EVER."

* * *

Sweat glistened along Kristoff's forehead, chilling in the icy night air, running slowly in rivulets down his temples. Pumping his arms, he ran faster, feeling his muscles strain, his shirt clenching and loosening along his abdomen.

Keep running. C'mon!

He yelled, a burst of adrenaline giving him one last shot of power before his limbs turned to what felt like lead, jerking to a stop.

He stared at the lamppost beside him, breathing heavily, and with his hands on his knees, leaned against it, panting.

"Thirty minutes... And twenty-seven... Seconds... Not bad..."

He groaned as his calf gave a sudden twinge, reaching down to massage the protesting muscles. "Ow... I shouldn't have pushed myself..."

He grabbed a handful of the snowdrift, plastering it to his face and legs, breathing becoming more even. "Ahhhhh... Better... Geez, I didn't know I could run this hard... Yerrrrrrgh..." Kristoff stretched his back, sighing in relief. "If I can just increase my run time to forty minutes, I can join the long-distance track team..."

Why? Because Anna's on it?

"Shut up! I... I just wanna get better at running, that's all!"

Oh, really.

"Just drop it! I need to go home now, OK? Geez! Leave me alone!"

I'm your own mind; I can't leave you. You're stuck with me.

"Arghh!" He swung his leg, kicking the metal pole and instantly regretting it as an arc of pain buzzed its way up his foot.

"This is all your fault!"

* * *

Anna reached for her lamp, switching it off as she sank down into her covers. Yet another uneventful, boring, totally useless day. What a surprise. Not.

A voice floated upstairs, and she ignored it at first, until a few words nearly made her shoot upright in bed.

"...Anna will be safe, I presume?"

What? Why is Dad talking about...

"Of course, as always," another voice replied, feminine and haughty, the voice of Lucian's wife, Adeline.

"Good, good... And the escapee? Have you found... It?"

An irritated sigh. "No, we have not. It's very difficult to track something through a city that's, mm, I don't know, filled with almost A MILLION PEOPLE!"

"Well I just assumed that-"

"SILENCE! Look, mm, darling, y'see, we kinda need it back, right? And, your project, if you really want it to... Mm, succeed, let's say... Then you'd better GET YOUR SORRY ASS OUT THERE AND FIND IT!"

"M-me?" Lucian's voice wavered a fraction. "I can't... The project doesn't have to... Don't put me through this... I couldn't possibly-mph!"

There was absolute silence, and Anna had to strain her ears to pick up the next words, barely audible over the soft hum of the heater.

"You will find it. You will bring it back. And if the project succeeds this time, then I won't have to harm your... Mm, precious daughter. Understood?"

Anna choked, nearly falling out of her bed, catching herself in time to hear her Lucian's reply.

"You wouldn't dare."

The girl scrambled back, heart pounding, clutching her knees to her chest. "Just a dream, just a dream, just a-"

There was a shout from downstairs, the thud of a heavy object, and Adeline's enraged screech, "GO! NOW!"

The door slammed, and Anna whimpered into her knees, trying to escape from what she thought was just a terrible dream, thinking of Kristoff, of Elsa, of Hans, of anyone... Anyone except the two people down below.

This was no dream, though.

It was a nightmare.

* * *

**I APOLOGIZE FOR ANY CONFUSION HERE! ALL WILL BE EXPLAINED!**

**Just for the record, this chapter has two timeframes, present, and a sort of memory. They interweave VERY much, so if any of our character's names are mentioned, it's the present, if they're not, it's the past. Get it?**

**AND WOO! ANOTHER WEEK FOR TEDDY! Don't expect this to be consistent though. Like I said, I'll update in the timeframe of about two weeks.**

**Drop us a review over here at Team TheElementHero! I'd love to hear from you guys, even if it's just a simple, "Cool." or "Nyeh." or "I HATE THISSS111!1!". Whatever floats your boat.**

**Keep being awesome, guys!**

**TEDDY OUT!**


	4. Chapter 4

I'm back!

And no, things haven't solved themselves yet. Geez. Everything is still the same crazy spiral of... I dunno. But long story short, my life just got a whole lot worse.

...What? You say things can't get any crazier than they already are?

Wrong.

If yesterday was rock bottom, then today is is the molten lava beneath. I learned something that I probably shouldn't have. I found something I probably shouldn't have. I saw something I-

Right, you can't read minds. Um... Yeah. Things are whacked up. Just keep reading to find out.

Unless, of course, you want to stay healthy and happy. Then put this away immediately

You have been warned.

* * *

_St. Arin's High School, present day..._

Kristoff shuffled his feet, bending at the knee and stretching his arms out, ready for impact.

I can do this. I'm ready. I'll totally kick some bu-

WHAM

A red, rubber dodgeball slammed into his stomach with a lot more force than necessary, sending him doubled over forwards into the floor.

"Ow," he coughed.

"You're out, Kristy!" Duke laughed, tossing another ball up and down before chucking it at another boy on the opposite side. "Get off the court!"

Kristoff coughed again, choking out, "It's... Kristoff."

"Didn't you hear me?" Another ball slammed into the ground an inch from his face, and he froze. "Get off!"

The downed boy pulled himself to the edge, grimacing as he watched his pathetic excuse for a team try to survive against Duke's gang. Of course, the gym teacher simply yelled 'play dodgeball, dropouts!' before bolting off to the teachers lounge.

Duke, of course, made the teams.

One by one the blue team fell, red team easily picking them off with whiplashed shots. Soon only two were left against a crowd of around twenty.

Hans.

Elsa.

Go figure.

Duke tossed a ball offhandedly at Hans, raising an eyebrow when the boy dodged. "You wanna play, little birdy?"

"Birdy?" Hans shot back dryly. "What are you, a cat or something?" In return he aimed for a red player, nailing them squarely in the leg. "Come and get me!"

The red captain yelled, and a barrage of dodgeballs whistled through the air, aimed at Hans, who stepped to the side, grabbing two and chucking them back, nailing two more. "You missed!"

Duke growled audibly, and pulled another projectile from the ground. "Stop being a show-off."

"I could say the same."

One by one the red players fell to Hans, Elsa awkwardly standing off to the side as the so-called war raged on. Finally, when there were only four reds left, Hans was struck in the shoulder.

"Gotcha!" Duke sneered, slapping his teammates on the shoulders. "Now all we have to do is get Snow Queen over there!"

Hans raised a hand to Elsa, tagging her in as he strode off to the side. "You can do it! No pressure, though."

She made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a squeak, and stepped to the middle of the court, unarmed.

Kristoff groaned. For all her icy demeanour, Elsa looked like she was about to faint. Add up Duke's insolent smirk and the three growling boys behind him, and Team Blue's chances of winning were shot, hung, and left for dead.

Well, I didn't need my pride anyways.

Duke smashed a shot right beside her left leg, and she yelped, falling backwards from the shock.

"Give it to her, Duke," one guy growled, passing off his ammo. "I wanna see her face when you take her down.

The captain leered, palming another ball. "Ready, Snow Queen?"

She stumbled to her feet, a semi-determined expression plastered on her face, similar to the one Kristoff had worn only minutes ago. "G-give me your best shot!"

"My pleasure."

There was the high pitched whistle of speeding rubber. Elsa raised her arms protectively over her face, palms out, braced for impact.

BANG

There was a flash of light, and Duke was on the floor, a red welt across his temple.

The girl lowered her hands slowly, unsure if another shot was coming, and stared at the sight if the other captain on the floor. "What just..."

"We just took out the other captain! Default win to Blue!" Hans cheered, rallying teammates clad in a deep cobalt. "Take that, Duke!"

"Hold on!" Duke rubbed the side of his head, scowling. "We took you out first! We get the default win!"

Hans smirked. "Who said I was the captain?"

Silence. Heads turned to Elsa, who waved sheepishly.

"Hi."

Looks like we had a chance after all.

* * *

Anna yawned her way through French, snoozed through Algebra, and barely managed to keep awake in Literature Studies. Halfway through Science, as she felt herself beginning to drift off, a hand prodded her shoulder.

"Psst!"

"...mm whuah?"

"Psst! Anna!"

The girl blinked, a sideways view of the room coming into focus. Jerking up, she shot the boy beside her a look. "What?"

He shrugged, passing her a folded piece of paper. Hesitantly she took it, smoothing it out until she could make out the drawing on it.

She blinked.

It was her. Confident and grinning, sketch-Anna stood atop a winner's podium, medals that were obviously first places draped around her neck. In a childish yet neat handwriting, printed across the bottom were the words, "You're my Hero!"

No signature. Weird.

Tapping the boy on the arm, she hissed, "Where'd you get this?"

He pointed to the ground beside him, and whispered, "It had your name on it, so I thought it was for you. Why? Is there a problem?"

"No! It's fine!" Placing the paper inside her binder, she frowned, contemplating the mysterious note.

Who on earth would send something like that to me?

* * *

Kristoff tapped his foot impatiently, waiting beside Anna's locker. She had Phys-Ed, and as always, she was late.

"Hey!"

A peppy voice jerked him back to reality, and he stared at Anna, who was carrying a large stack of papers and books.

"What are you doing?"

"Um, a little help here?"

"Sorry!" He grunted, taking one side of the pile and helping her place it inside her locker, slamming the door. "Phew! What are those for, anyways?"

She shrugged, pushing up the sleeves of her shirt, still exhausted from last period. "I dunno. The librarian said something about filling out a bunch of book order forms to make up for some of the stories I misplaced."

"What's that?"

"You know, when you lose a book, and they want it back?"

"No, what's that?" He pointed to the dull crimson mark running along her outer arm, surrounded by pale patches of skin. "How did that happen?"

She flushed slightly. "Uh... Would you believe it's a birthmark?"

"Really."

"No." Anna rubbed it nervously before tucking her sleeve back down, covering the mark again. "Look, if you really want to know, can we go somewhere private? This is personal."

"Wh- No! It's fine! You don't need to share if you'e not ready!"

"Naw, it's cool. I need to get this off my chest anyways, y'know?" She grinned, pulling on her bag and adding, "Let's go to the new coffee place down the street. It's not too far to walk to."

"Erm... OK."

"Last one there has to pay! READYSETGO!"

"W-wait!"

* * *

_He held her hand as she lay there, prone and fragile, taking in the darkened and ashy marks across her skin. How he wished he could have protected her. How he wished he could have held her like he was now. That he could have gently caressed her arm and guided her back, instead of letting the demonic fire do it for him._

_She stirred, eyelids flickering, and murmured, "...Daddy?"_

_"I'm here. I'm right here."_

_"...I missed you."_

_A tear dropped down onto her hand, and he whispered, "I did too."_

_"Don't cry..."_

_"I'm not crying, my little snowflake. I'm just glad you're OK."_

_She coughed, trying to sit up. "What happened? I don't really remember anything... Was there a fire? Did that cause these marks?"_

_He stiffened, muscles tightening with guilt. "Y-yes. A fire. That's right."_

_She gave him a weak smile, squeezing his hand. "It's alright. I'm fine. I'll recover eventually. You don't have to worry."_

_But he did worry, worried about her life, and his mistakes, and all the terrible, terrible lies he had spun to try to keep them both happy, each one trapping him farther and farther inside his chasm of guilt._

_One day, he would have to cut the lines and show her the truth._

_But not now._

_Now they could be together again, if only for a moment, before he would have to do something so terrible that tore his heart to pieces and blew them to the wind._

* * *

Elsa winced at the sight of the red welt along Hans's shoulder, still burning from the dodgeball game. "So... How was it?"

He grinned. "It was great! Making you the captain was the best decision yet! Although," he muttered, lowering his voice, "you didn't have to do that whole thing with the light show at the end."

"Light show? What do you mean...?"

"The bright flash thing? You know, you're going all out 'please don't kill me' mode, and Duke just chucks one at your face, and there's this bang, and he's on the floor. Remember?"

"I-I..." She shook her head. "I didn't do anything. I swear."

Hans frowned, scratching his head thoughtfully. "Then what was it? Some sort of malfunction with the lights?"

"Y-yeah. That's it." Elsa gave an awkward little laugh before turning away, adding, "It's almost five. I should really get going."

"Hey, do you want to grab a coffee or something? You know, I've got time, and-"

"No. Um, no, thanks." She winced, backing away. "I really have to go. This is important, OK?"

"Uh, OK..." Hans sighed as she rounded the corner, absently rubbing his sore shoulder. He almost had her there.

I never knew trying to get a girl to go out with you was so tough.

* * *

Anna stirred her latte, pouting. For all her bravado and track skills, she managed to arrive at the Top It Off a whole ten minutes behind Kristoff, due to her getting completely lost in the large plaza.

Why was it so hard to find a giant, ten foot tall, glowing neon sign above a florescent orange building?

"So," Kristoff began, slurping his second coffee. "You wanna just... Talk, I guess?"

"You guess or you think so?"

"Both! None! I have no idea! Go ask Prince Charming or something!"

She laughed. "You know, if Hans ever gets over his Imma-go-hit-on-da-Snow-Queen phase, you and him would make a great pair!"

"WHAT?!"

"You know that he's just as into this secret finding out thing just as much as we are, right?"

"STILL WHAT!?"

"Kidding. About the first part. But really, we should totally have an official "Let's pry into other people's secrets and make them really uncomfortable club" or something."

"...That makes us sound like stalkers."

"Whatever." Anna slurped the last of her drink and tipped back in her chair, asking, "So what do you wanna know about, oh great secret discoverer?"

Kristoff shrugged. "Eh... That mark on your arm, I guess."

"My so-called supposed birthmark?"

"...The mark on your arm, yes."

"You still don't believe it's a birthmark?"

"What do you think?"

"Fine." She leaned forwards, elbow on the table, beginning, "It all started seven years ago, when an evil magician was out to kill the Chosen One. He traveled far and wide, only to realize-"

"Anna, really?"

"Whaaaaat? How did you guess?"

Kristoff sighed. "You used the exact same intro from 'The Death Behind the Frozen Darkness'. Try again."

She pouted. "Fine. When I was six-and-a-half my house burned down. Obviously I survived, but fire is painful and goes ow-ow if you touch it. I touched it. Anna get ow-ow. The end."

He shrugged. "Okay. It's a burn. Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Because it's personal. After all, not everyone's a survivor of 'The Great Burning' or whatever."

"The what?"

"You know, genius, super-mega-huge fire that completely destroyed a building and killed two people? Hu-lloooo!"

"For the record, I don't watch the news yet. That's a grandpa thing. And also, if I did watch the news, didn't it say three people?"

Anna raised an eyebrow. "I dunno... Maybe they thought I died or something?"

"Well, who did die, then?"

The effect was immediate. Anna's eyes widened, smile vanishing, and she muttered roughly, "No."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't wanna talk about it." She slouched in her seat, looking everywhere except his eyes.

He sighed, and an awkward silence descended on the pair, Kristoff absently picking at his coffee cup every few seconds. After waiting for what seemed like days, he sighed, quietly asking, "Was it your parents?"

* * *

_She was giggling, her laughter one bright moment in his day, happily leaning against his shoulder. Together they sat, licking dribbling ice cream cones, relaxing in the park, doing normal, everyday things that they rarely got to experience._

_A pigeon pecked at her shoe, and she laughed, breaking off the bottom of her cone and holding her hand out, yelping when it was pecked from her palm._

_"Isn't that cool, Daddy?"_

_He laughed. "It sure is. He didn't even nick you."_

_"That's 'cause he likes me. Can I keep him?"_

_"I'm afraid not, honey. You see, if you take a bird away from its home, it grows up into a nasty little creature called The Peckaloff, who will sneak into your room at night and TICKLE YOU!"_

_She shrieked as he wriggled his fingers at her stomach, scooting away so fast that she fell off the bench. "Stop it!"_

_"Sorry," he apologized, laughing. Standing up, brushing his hands on his pants, he lifted her up into the air, placing her high on her shoulders. "How about I make up for it with a shoulder ride?"_

_"Yeah!"_

_Together they walked, talking and laughing the afternoon away as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky. Finally, when she was tired, resting in his arms, she murmured, "D'you think I can ever fly like the pigeons, Daddy?"_

_He swallowed, gathering his words. The pigeons at the parks had their wings clipped, leaving them unable to get off the ground. As he prepared to answer truthfully, something made him stop._

_There, fluttering on the bench where they had been an our ago, was the very same bird from before, the same reddish star on its crest. Flapping madly, it managed to lift itself off by about a few inches before collapsing back down seconds later. Getting up, it kept trying, until finally, finally, it raised itself high enough to hop onto the low branches of the tree beside it, curling into its nest._

_"If you really want to, I'm sure you can... Just as long as you try your hardest."_

_"If I could ever fly... I'd be a superhero... Like Daddy."_

_"I'm a superhero now?"_

_"You always... Were."_

_He sighed, unshed tears glistening behind saddened eyes. "Thank you, my little snowflake. I love you."_

_"I love you more..."_

_Guilt gnawed at the base of his skull, but leaning down he gently kissed her on the forehead, whispering, "I love you most."_

* * *

"Elsa!"

Something roughly shoved her from behind, and she fell, barely managing to place her glove-clad hands out in front of her before her head neared the tiled floor.

"What the-"

An arm yanked her upwards, pulling her through the halls, masculine voice hissing, "Go! Go!"

"I don't-"

"Just trust me, alright?!" The figure was shadowed by his hoodie, lithe and yet strong enough to pull the significantly smaller girl along. "You're not safe here!"

"Excuse me! This happens to be a perfectly normal high school, thank you very much!" Wrenching her hand away, she glared at him, adding, "What are you on, anyways?"

He coughed. "I'm not 'on' anything! I'm trying to save you!"

"Let me repeat myself. Normal high school. Ring a bell?"

Hidden eyes locked with hers, and he murmured, "You know that you can never be normal, Elsa."

She glared at him. "I can try. I can try my absolute hardest, my absolute best. One day I will find the one who is responsible for- well, this!" She yanked a glove off, scrunching it into a ball.

"Don't take them off-"

"I don't care anymore. Just get away from me! I don't want to see you again!"

"You wouldn't-"

A burst of light barely grazed the side of his cheek, thin cut slowly releasing a flow of crimson.

Elsa lowered her hand, icy demeanour finally beginning to crack, and hoarsely whispered, "Just go. I can't... Just stay away."

She felt his searching gaze on her one last time, and before he pushed his way out the doors, he mumbled, "Alright."

He vanished into the storm, along with most of her hope that she could ever get everything together.

Things would work out, though.

Right?

* * *

Anna stared into the mirror of the bathroom, using a tissue to wipe away the tears that were threatening to fall.

It's OK. You've had enough emotional breakdowns for an entire year. Just talk to him. He'll understand. He will, won't he?

"Yeah. He will. He will!" She gulped, drawing in a shaky breath, hand on the door. "Just go out there and face him again. You can do it, you can do it, you can DO IT!"

She pressed against the handle, and strode confidently out, walking right back to her table, plopping down, and staring a slightly surprised Kristoff right in the eyes.

"So!" she began, confidence wavering by a fraction.

"So...?"

"About the whole, uh, fire thing and all..." Her visage flickered, but she pressed on, forcing out, "My parents died in the fire, I didn't, there was no proof of a third person anywhere in the house, I got adopted, the end. Tada."

She nervously brushed a strand of hair out of her face, scuffing her feet. Kristoff knew she was hiding something, but let it slide, answering, "Alright."

"Look, I'm sorry we went all the way out here; it's just I kinda wanted to have like a coffee or something and talk because sometimes I can get emotionally upset, and I didn't mean to make you wait and I'm really sorry and-"

"Hey. It's fine." He smiled, pushing back his chair as he stood up. "This was great. I don't mind going out for a drink with a friend every now and then, and besides, I need to get out more, you know?"

Anna let out a nervous giggle. "I sure do, Lord Sarcastic-Shut-In."

"Hey!" Kristoff stuck his tongue out at her, and, laughing, they wandered out of the café together, more than one heart just a little bit lighter than it was before.

* * *

_She was crumpled over her desk, breathing deeply and evenly, unfinished homework scattered under the thin light. Hair had fallen out of its usually arrangement, a wavy halo surrounding her peaceful features._

_Stifling a gentle smile, he pulled the blanket off her bed and draped it over her shoulders, watching as she involuntarily snuggled into it, letting out a soft sigh._

_Stepping back, he flicked off the light, moonlight bathing the room in a cool glow._

_"Goodnight, my darling."_

_She smiled at his voice, shifting slightly on her arms. Then quietly, so quiet and muffled with sleep he was almost sure he had imagined it, she responded drowsily, "...See you... Daddy."_

_He sighed, closing the door gently, and leaned against it, head against the doorframe. "I'll see you too," he whispered. "I promise."_

_He could never keep that promise, however, for the next morning he awoke to an open window, a room devoid of any articles of value, and a hastily written note pinned to the wall._

_'Goodbye'_

* * *

"Go! Go! Ahhh, I said left! Can't you guys listen? Geez!"

Kristoff sighed as his ConNet's screen faded into a dark red, the words 'Game Over' etched across the screen. Raising a hand, he waved it over the 'log out' button, watching as the slow spiral of digital air signified his waiting time. As the home menu came into view, he almost tugged off his headset, when something caught his eye.

Over the word 'Frozen' in the title was a small, barely visible patch of distorted code, located directly over the top left of the 'F'.

"What in the-"

He moved his hand over it, and his vision crackled, flashes of a symbol fading in and out of the game.

A shiver ran down his spine, and, after taking a breath, he pushed his hand forwards, the intended program vanishing only to be replaced by a blocky, silver, 'FC'.

Waving his cursor over the logo, a series of photos and diagrams popped up, and he hesitantly flicked through them, eyes widening at what he saw.

The first was a blueprint, nothing out of the ordinary, except that on it was drawn a humanoid figure with a distinctly inhuman feature: a gaping hole scratched into the area where the chest should be. Scrawled across the bottom in red was 'Not enough power supplies received. Test model functional but not stable enough to house FC'.

The second picture was a more detailed drawing of the figure, this time with looks at the different functions, including a large blade that extended from each limb, jet-like wings, and some sort of cloaking device.

Is this some sort of easter egg or hidden level?

Scrolling to the third picture, he noticed with a growing sense of dread that this wasn't a concept; it was a real, actually a photo of a robotic suit-like machine, heavily armoured and deep, dark crimson. 'Model almost functional, final steps in process' was written along the bottom.

As Kristoff tried to wave to the last picture, he caught a glimpse of a four-coloured sketched object before his screen exploded in a burst of static, a tinny voice droning, "Warning. Invalid access code. You are now being relocated to the start screen."

'The Death Behind the Frozen Darkness' appeared on screen again, with one taunting, sinister fact wiped away.

The hidden patch over the 'F' was gone.

* * *

"I'm telling you, it was real!"

Hans gave a weak snort, staring incredulously at the other boy. "What, that you saw some sort of secret robot design in a glitch on the title screen? Please."

Kristoff glared, pointing at the diagram he had drawn up. "Look! Right overtop of the 'F'! I tapped it, and I saw some sort of secret blueprints or something, I swear! It was like a mech suit or body armour or some kind of tech that no one on this earth has ever seen! I know it sounds crazy, but-"

"OK, OK! I get it. But let me ask you something first. If you accessed these so-called 'super secret blueprints', why would there even be something like that in the first place, hm?"

"I-I... I haven't figured that out yet," he admitted. "But I think someone wanted to keep it hidden, and put it, whatever it is, in a sort of coded vault inside the game."

"Alright, I'm going to repeat my question. Why? Why would there be a chart with technology that could theoretically take over the world or something in A VIDEO GAME?!"

Kristoff sighed, throwing his hands in the air in disgust. "I DON'T KNOW, ALRIGHT?! My whole life has been a mess ever since we came back from winter break, and I'm kinda having a terrible time sorting everything out! Just be patient! Geez!"

"OK, sorry..." Hans held his hand out hesitantly. "Apology accepted?"

"Will I still have to give you a million dollars if you date Elsa?"

"Excuse me?!"

"Never mind. Sure, apology accepted."

They shook hands just in time for Anna to stick her head out the school window and yell, "CHEMISTRYYYY!"

"SHUT UP, ANNA!"

* * *

Elsa jammed her hands in her pockets, storming out of the forbidden classroom, muttering nonsense under her breath.

"That jerk... What does he even... No, I am NOT a freak... Damn power levels... Ah!"

She stumbled, slightly dizzy from yet another session in the machine, and grit her teeth, pushing on.

"I won't even... After ME... Stop following... Sick of running away..."

BAM

She collided with another figure, effectively stopping both her conversation and the one going on between the other two. "Sorry," she muttered, moving to sidestep the pair, but froze when she saw who it was.

"Hi Elsa!" Anna chirped, giving her a little wave. "Coming back from another mysterious trip to the off-limits classroom?"

"How did you... Never mind. Sure. Yes. Whatever."

Kristoff frowned, holding out a hand to steady the girl, and asked quietly, "Are you alright? I'm not trying to pry again, well, not intentionally, but you look kinda... Anxious? Nervous?"

"Grumpy," Anna added, grinning. "Grouchy, annoyed, pissed-"

"OK! I get it!" She gave an obviously fake smile, and pushed past, shoulders hunched, head down.

Why can't you just stay away from me?

He called after her, she called after her, but Elsa shook it off, stumbling out into the storm (seriously, did the sun ever come out in the winter?). The wind tore at her shirt, at her jeans, at her thin, thin gloves.

Go away.

Something sharp grazed her cheek.

Whirling around in the endless, white, she managed to turn just enough to see the dark red glow of smoething-or-other advancing through the snow.

Another dart whistled past her, the tip barely missing her shoulder.

This is what Duke was talking about.

This time a net of some sort was thrown through the air, crackling with sparks and sharp metal and anything dangerous she could see in the split second before she was knocked to the ground by another figure, narrowly dodging the webbing.

"What on earth is-"

"Run!"

It was the man from before, his hands entangled, his coat torn to shreds. Yanking away at the ropes, he drew out a knife, slashing the cords to the ground. "Go! I'll distract him!"

"Who are you?!"

He ignored her, instead throwing the knife at the machine, watching as it plunged into the circuits with a satisfying thunk.

"What are you doing? Go!"

"But I can help!"

A metallic tendril shot out, wrapping around his frame and her ankles, plunging her to the ground and almost causing her to black out. She heard the thud of his body as he was flung aside, and his dull grunt as he was slammed into the side of the building.

Elsa's legs were yanked out from under her, and she was dangled upside down in front of her attacker, finally getting a look at it for the first time.

Her eyes widened.

Spider-like, with eight legs bent in multiple directions, and about ten feet tall, it stood in the middle of the raging storm, three blood-red eyes boring into hers.

"Give it to meee..." it hissed, tendril snaking up her bound body to tilt her head up to meet its gaze. "Give it to me and your death will be quick..."

"I don't know what you're talking about! Let me go!" She yanked at the coil holding her upside down, crying out, as it tightened, spiralling up her chest.

"Now now... That's no way to behave..."

"Put me DOWN!"

If it could shrug, it would have, and in its low, robotic voice, it purred, "If you inssssist..."

The ground rushed up, snow filling her vision, and the last thing she saw was the sight if a razor sharp pincer bearing down on top of her, aimed straight at her chest.

* * *

_He sat with his head in his hands, the final note he received from her clenched in his grip._

_"I didn't mean it... I loved you... I still do... Please come back..."_

_"You're still grieving over that girl, mm? Please. She wasn't really your daughter."_

_His wife stood at the doorframe, painted lips twisted in a sneer._

_"What do you want?"_

_"Mm, let's see... I want to know why YOU AREN'T WORKING ON THE PROJECT! You see, darling, this is, mm... CRUCIAL. We need to get this done before things get out of hand!"_

_"But... Our daughter-"_

_"Is dead to us now. She runs away, well, mm, she can deal with the consequences. Besides, I'm sure you'll be seeing her again VERY SOON. Am I clear?"_

_He glanced between the note and the woman, eyes darting back and forth. Nervously, he licked his lips, hoarsely whispering, "I... I choose... Choose..."_

* * *

Anna screamed.

Whirling around, she pushed past Kristoff, slamming open the door to the outside, yelling, "You get AWAY from her!"

The wind tore the words out of her mouth, and she could only watch, horrified, as a small figure yelled at a hooded one from the ground. After another second, the hooded one pulled out a knife, and she screamed again, watching as the sound died before it reached them.

The knife flew... But in the other direction. A sickening crunch was heard, and Anna stared, shellshocked as two whip-like machines tossed the hooded one against the wall and knocked the girl off her feet.

Platinum blonde collided with the snow.

"ELSA!"

She saw the older girl get yanked into the air, dangling upside down, and froze, paralyzed with fear from the sight that was revealed.

What. The. Fu-

"ANNA!"

Kristoff ran out beside her, skidding to a stop as they both took in the monstrous behemoth stationed in the storm.

"WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT?!" he yelled pulling the girl closer to him.

"I HAVE NO IDEA!"

"IS THAT ELSA?!"

"YES!"

The body was slammed to the ground, and a pincer was raised into the air as the figure dazedly turned over onto its back.

"ELSAAAAA!"

Anna raced forwards, not caring for Kristoff's shout, not caring for the probable death waiting for her, not caring that she could very well not make it in time.

She screamed, shouldering Elsa out of the way just as the spike came down, inches from her spine, and buried itself deep into the snow.

"Are you alright?!"

The blonde staggered to her feet, shrieking as she yanked Anna back again, two more pincers coming down where she had been seconds earlier. "NO!"

The girls ran backwards, machine following with surprising agility, pursuing them as they darted towards the building, feet sinking into the snow.

Then, Anna fell.

One wrong footstep sank her into the snow, and she cried out, desperately tugging and pulling as she tried to yank herself out of three feet of powder.

"Anna!"

Elsa pulled on the other's arms, but to no avail, as the machine came closer and closer, towering over them, blunt, massive weight shooting out on a chain, whistling-

THUD

Silence. Slowly, Anna opened her eyes, and almost felt her insides freeze over as ever silently, ever stoically, Kristoff fell to the ground with a soft thump.

"NO!"

The ball-and-chain retracted, and the machine whirred, preparing for another shot. The girls struggled with the snow, but when nothing budged, Anna dipped her head in defeat.

"Go. Take Kristoff. Get out of here."

"Anna-"

"Look, I'm scared, OK? I'm hurting, I'm freaking out, and I have no idea what's going on. But if you get hurt... If you get hurt, I won't be able to live with myself anymore."

"I can't-"

"GO, ELSA!"

Holding back tears, Anna watched as the older girl backed away before picking up Kristoff's unconscious body, a feat which should have been impossible for someone of her stature, and began to run as fast as she could towards the school.

They'll make it. They'll live. They'll-

A blade grazed her cheek, followed by the maniacal computerized laughter of the machine.

I'll die.

She watched as the weight shot towards her, heart nearly beating right out of her chest, and made one last futile attempt to move, but to no avail.

This is it.

The chain pulled tight, stopping inches from her, and was yanked backwards, flung into the drone and breaking off one of its legs.

"What the-"

The hooded man appeared, knife somehow recovered, and slashed at the chain again, this time cleaving it in half.

Strong hands yanked her out of the snow and placed her upright, gruffly asking, "You alright?"

"You mean aside from the fact that I'm not even bothering to comprehend the madness that is going on right now, then yes, I'm fine."

He laughed. "You are indeed. Now c'mon, we've got a Spyder to take down."

"E-excuse me?"

"Technical term. Just roll with it."

A stray burst of shrapnel came just a little too close for comfort, and he gentle shouldered her out of the way, adding, "Quite literally, actually. Duck!"

She immediately dropped to her knees, narrowly dodging a swing from the Spyder. "What am I supposed to do?!"

"Here!" He threw her an object that closely resembled a sort of gun, explaining, "Taser. Point and shoot; it's pretty easy, and can get quite fun."

"Fighting a giant robot spider thing with a miniature weapon is FUN?!"

"Sure. Now, whoever gets the most legs wins! I've got one!"

"POINTS?! Are you CRAZY?! This isn't a game!" Anna jumped, avoiding sweep to the legs, and shot a small burst of electricity at the limb, disabling it and making it freeze in its position, grating to a stop. "This is reality! This is life! This is- actually, that was kinda fun."

He smirked. "Told you so."

* * *

Elsa glared at Kristoff, now safely inside the building, and raised her hand, slapping him across the cheek. Part of it was an effort to wake him up, part of it was pent up anger, and part of it was an attempt to show him how stupid it was to jump into a massive weight, but, whatever way got through, it was still a slap.

"You idiot... We were fine!"

Uh, no we weren't.

"Shut up, head." She slapped him again, tears threatening to pour out, and yelled, "You don't have to be the hero! Don't put your life down for someone like me! Think of Anna! Think of Sven! Think of anything you love here! Next time you jump into something, you'll get HURT!"

The tears spilled, and she choked back a sob, forcing out, "I just don't want you to die!" before collapsing to her knees at his feet, the boy's body falling from her grasp to rest against the wall.

Wake up Kristoff. Please.

There was a scream from outside, and she whipped her head around to the window, seeing Anna and the other man... Attacking?!

"What are you DOING?!"

They were slashing at the legs of the machine, bringing it down and closer to the ground, until the large capsule that was its body crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

Anna fist-pumped the air, and moved forwards to finish it off, when a shiver attacked Elsa's spine, and she cried out, ignoring the double layer of concrete separating her from the danger.

"GET AWAY!"

The net shot out again, followed by two darts, tangling her up and throwing her into the ground, barbs sinking into her right shoulder moments later.

"ANNA!"

The man whipped around, pulling the downed girl out of the way of another blade, throwing her over his shoulder. With expert precision, Anna was carried out harm's way and deposited on top of a snowbank, form sinking slightly into the soft snow.

He gave her a quick lat on the head before running back to the crippled machine, leaping up on top to avoid the tendrils that shot out of the side, plunging his blade in at random and sending sparks everywhere, eyes of the Spyder beginning to flicker and die.

With one last stab the robot let out a screech, audible even through the walls of the school, and exploded in a blaze of electricity and metal and wires. When at last it lay still, the man dug his hand into the body and tore out a disk, snapping it beneath his foot before striding over towards Anna's unconscious form.

It's over.

Almost laughing and crying at the same time, Elsa yanked Kristoff into her arms and burst into the snow, feet crunching in almost silence as the storm began to die down.

"Hey!"

The man turned, and she ran up beside him, coughing, "What was that?"

"A Spyder drone. It was programmed to come here and find someone for some reason... And we know who the someone is. You."

She deposited Kristoff onto the ground and glanced at Anna, quietly asking, "Is she alright?"

"She'll be fine. It's just a mild tranquilizer or something; nothing too harmful." He yanked at the net that entangled her and slashed it away, picking up her form and cradling her in his arms. "I'll take her home."

"But you don't even know where she lives... And who are you?!"

He stepped back warily, as if she might yank down his hood, and evenly replied, "That is not for you to know yet... Elsa."

"But-"

"Please, I insist, take the boy home for me. You do know where he lives, correct?"

"Um, yes, but-"

"My work here is done. I protected you, and all other occupants of this area. Just... Stay out of trouble next time, alright?" He flashed a smile, and began his walk towards the street, Anna nestled into his arms.

With a sigh, Elsa grabbed Kristoff, yanking him to his feet as she made her way down to the sidewalk, slapping him as they went.

"I am not dragging you all the way home, Kristy."

* * *

Kristoff awoke to the sound of his bedroom window sliding open. He opened his mouth to protest, but choked when a hand was clamped over it.

"Mmph!"

"Shh!" A feminine voice shushed him, and he felt himself be carried through into his bedroom and laid on the bed with a soft thud. Almost hesitantly the hand pulled back, and he sputtered, sitting up just in time to see a blur of platinum blonde dart through his window and vanish into the night air.

What the- Elsa?

"Hey!"

He jumped out of bed and ran for the window, leaning out all the way to try and stop her, to demand an explanation-

She was gone.

"Dang it!" Kristoff slumped back, the dull pain in his chest that had been throbbing ever so unnoticeably exploding in a white burst of pain, sending stars across his vision.

Great. Yet another complication.

Heaving himself up, using his desk for leverage, he collapsed onto the office chair, lurching a bit as it spun in circles from the sudden movement. As the world stopped tilting, and the pain began to subside, he managed to fit the few pieces of information he had retained together, before they disappeared entirely.

First, there was a freaking giant robot attacking the school.

Second, there was a FREAKING GIANT ROBOT attacking the school.

Third, THERE WAS A FREAKING GIANT ROBOT ATTACKING THE SCHOOL!

"Please tell me this is just some crazy hallucination from a spiked drink or something..." Kristoff gave a weak, unsteady giggle, and breathed, "Yeaaaah... Not real, not real, not-"

His chest exploded in pain again, and he cried out, yelling, "OK! It's real! Geez!"

Spinning again, he yanked off his bag, tossing it across the room, and put his head in his hands, every ounce of self control threatening to jump out the window.

Think. There has to be a logical explanation for this...

Something clicked, and he whispered quietly, "Maybe it's Elsa...?"

* * *

Elsa ran faster than she had ever run before.

Not only had the whole "Sup, I'm a giant Spyder of death on my way to kill you and stuff" incident slowed her down by about an hour, but the loss of signal from the machine had meant her pursuers had zeroed in on her location in a heartbeat.

"No no no no no..." Feet skidding on wet pavement, she slid around the corner and dashed past the next warehouse, the bright spotlights of the Chasers only inches behind her.

Each step matched a heartbeat, each breath a lifeline, each pump of the legs another second of freedom. Navigating through the twisted maze of buildings, she almost ran right into the light of yet another Chaser, barely managing to veer right in time.

"No no no..." How many were there now? Twenty? Thirty? The robotic chatter melded together, forming one droning buzz, homing in on her footsteps like magnets.

She felt her sides begin to burn, and grit her teeth, pressing on, watching in horror as the warehouse she slid around ended in a single, twenty foot high wall.

"No!"

Whipping around, she tore off her gloves, aiming them at the deadly devices on her trail, screaming, "GET BACK!"

They hesitated, if for a moment. Then they accelerated towards her, pincers extended.

Elsa clenched her fists, and for a moment, everything seemed to stand still.

Then the buildings exploded.

* * *

Hans jerked awake at the sound of a colossal noise, fumbling at his window blind. When he yanked it up, he watched in horror as over fifty buildings burst into flames, debris trailing into the air high enough to obscure the moon.

"What the-"

A burst if blue light shot up from the centre, and a glowing, humanoid form arched through the air, curving over backwards before crashing into the ground a hundred feet away.

Twin crimson lasers followed.

Hans could only describe the next few moments as 'breathtaking' and 'awe-inspiring' when asked to recount it. However, when standing in the moment watching the carnage unfold as the blue tore apart the red with untamed fury, he could only describe the dry sensation in his throat and the wet slickness on his palms as one thing.

Fear.

* * *

**MWAHAHA! Cliiiiiiffffffhangerrrr!  
*maniacal laughter***

**And yet again, another weekly achievement for Teddy. And, as usual, you can expect updates in at least two weeks.**

***re-reads giant robot fight scene***

**Mm... Maybe I shouldn't have put this under adventure... But, uh, sci-fi works too!**

**I'm not telling who won the voteeee! You'll see!**

**Sorry if you can't review; I just uploaded thus chapter over the ship notice. :( Feel free to leave an Anon one, though! Regulars are fine too!**

**The next chapters finally explore more of what's going on. And I, as the author, have the liberty to say this:**

**I apologize in advance for any desire to kill me after the next chapter. Sorry!**

**Actually not sorry and completely enjoying making you suffer (OK, not really),**

**Teddy**


	5. Chapter 5

This is where it gets insane.

If you are afraid if the impossible, the crazy, the mind-blowing, the weird, then STOP READING. I mean it. There's stuff in here that terrified me from the inside out. I can still feel the goosebumps.

On the other hand, if you're fine with all this stuff, then go right ahead. I mean, I guess I can't stop you, seeing as you're probably not listening to me or anything. Too curious, eh?

This next part should cure that.

Remember giant assassin robot of death attacking the school? Remember Elsa's weird disappearances and encounters with us? Remember the whole "The Great Burning" incident that doesn't seem to match up the facts?

Let me just say that the next day of my life changed everything, making it one that I would never, could never forget. And for the last time, please, try to stay sane.

This has been your final warning.

* * *

_St. Arin's High School, present day..._

Anna stalled in the hallway, fiddling with her combination lock. Her head was pounding, her eyesight blurry, and yet she was so nervous that she couldn't even let herself rest for a moment.

In the throng of teens leaving the school, Elsa's normally stand-out platinum hair was lost behind waves of coats and boots, bags and gloves. Even so, both girl's height made it almost impossible for each to see the other.

What exactly happened yesterday?

"Anna!"

She gave the crowd one last longing glance, before turning on the spot, yelling back, "What?!"

The boy waved her over, beckoning to the door. "Come out here! Someone's asking for you!"

Her heart sped up a bit, sweat building on her forehead. Elsa? Is she going to explain everything to me for once?

Anna pushed forwards, making her way into the much quieter side room, glancing around for a familiar face. "Who is it? What did they want?"

"Some kid named Elsa I think..." He stroked his wispy beard, and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Do you know her?"

"Well, yeah! She's only the most mysterious girl in school!"

"Interesting..." His eyes darted to the door, and he kicked it closed, now silent in the gymnasium-sized room. "Tell me more about her..."

"Uh, what? You said she wanted to speak with-"

"Now!"

"Right! So, she's kinda cold, but shy, is sometimes cruel, has a whack-load of secrets, used to have this kitten thing, but I don't know where that guy went; she-"

He groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Physical description. Please."

"Why?" Anna's eyes narrowed. "Are you some sort of stalker?"

"Description!" he barked.

"Eep! Short, like petite, platinum blonde, ice-blue eyes, wears gloves-"

"That's all we needed to know," he smirked, snapping his fingers. Hands grabbed her from behind, one pair yanking her arms behind her, the other roughly shoving a blindfold over her eyes.

"HEY!"

She struggled for a second, and tried to scream, but a balled up rag was stuffed into her mouth, and she gagged.

Anna felt his hands wrap around her waist, and made a muffled screaming noise as she was hoisted into the air, a strong sense of vertigo gripping her temples. "MMMPH!"

"Shut it. You're coming with us. After all, a certain someone is going to be very anxious to take you back..."

Her eyes widened behind the cloth, and one thought rang through her mind as sharp as steel.

Kristoff.

* * *

"ANNA! AAAAANNA!"

Kristoff cupped his hands over his mouth, scanning the front yard of the school. Everyone had left before him, again, and yet again Anna was late. "ANNA! Where are you?!"

"She's not with you?"

He spun around, seeing Elsa standing in the doorway, ConNet in hand, worry plastered across her face. "No, she's not... Did she go home early or something?"

"I don't think so... She'd have told us. I know she would have. Besides, her signal's still here..."

There was an awkward pause, and Kristoff sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look, I get that the whole mystery thing might be normal for you, but we're normal-normal, Anna and I. Everything's moving so fast that... Well, I guess we just need to slow down for a bit to take it all in."

She raised an eyebrow. "You aren't panicking or anything?"

A nervous chuckle escaped him, and he grinned. "I might have left all my panic in my bedroom last night I got dropped off by a not-so-mysterious stranger. Hint hint."

"Sorry!" Elsa covered her mouth with one gloved hand, eyes sparkling. "I thought you would wake up your parents or something! I didn't mean to-"

"Hey, I'm just kidding. It's fine." Kristoff glanced around the yard again, and after a quick check of his watch he asked, "Well, if Anna isn't going to show up, do you think we should just head home? I mean, tomorrow's the student carnival planning day, and I should really-"

"KRISTOFF!"

A voice rang out from the school building, filled with urgency and panic. "Help!"

"Hans? What's going on?"

Said boy shoved open the doors, leaning on the wall with one hand for support, breath steaming out in clouds, and choked out, "Saw her... Came and took... Find help!"

Elsa's eyes widened, and she darted up the steps, pulling him down to her eye level. "You saw Anna? What happened?!"

He coughed, and managed, "In the side gym... Was hiding in the equipment closet for a dare... I heard voices, and watched through the doorframe..." Hans's arms shook, and he yelled, "I couldn't stop them! They... They came from behind her, she didn't see them!"

"What?" Kristoff's stomach lurched slightly, and he moved towards the steps. "How many people?!"

"Three," answered Hans, eyes downcast. "I didn't stand a chance."

Elsa sucked in a sharp breath and released the boy, hands shaking. "No way... They're involving someone else in this?"

"What?"

"Look, Hans, tell Kristoff what happened next. I... I have to go."

He grabbed her arm pleadingly, and whispered, "Wait." Turning to the other boy, he kept the fear out of his voice, and calmly stated, "Kristoff... Anna has been kidnapped."

"WHAT?!"

* * *

_Slowly, the white queen fell._

_The chessboard lay in his study, a mix of two opposing colours among alternating squares. Black sat dominant, with only three pawns and a castle taken, while white held only an ivory king, queen, knight, and bishop._

_He moved a dark pawn forwards, and countered with the queen, taking the bait. Black soon surrounded the separated piece, the ebony bishop slashing across to close the gap._

_White moved the knight, only to have it come close to being taken. Slowly, his hand drew one of the black bishops forwards, and with a gentle flick the queen toppled over, rolling to a stop at the feet of the king._

_A teardrop spattered on the board, soaking into the wood._

_He would win, but was the sacrifice really worth it? And when the time came to pay the cost, could he stand and watch them die?_

* * *

Anna struggled, feeling the press of two bodies against her side as the car raced along the streets. Up front a radio was blaring with screechy static, a noise that made her heart pound faster than it already was.

I'm being kidnapped.

I'm being FREAKING KIDNAPPED.

She gasped for breath, a feat made near-impossible by the rag stuffed in her mouth, a tried to throw a punch at God-knows-where, only to have a large hand roughly shove her arm back down.

"No fightin' n'til we get there," the leftmost captor growled. "So keep still, feistypants."

"Mmph!" Anna swung again, wrenching her arm free and catching him on the side of the jaw (at least, she hoped it was the jaw).

Something smacked her on the back of the head, and she saw stars against the darkness that covered her eyes, blindfold slipping just enough to give her a view of a sort of warehouse before the thug on the left forced it back up.

The vehicle braked, and she was dragged out of the car, still flanked by the two goons.

She heard breathing in front of her, and in one last attempt, she kicked for a shin, missed, and fell backwards to her elbows with a thud.

There was laughter, and she scowled as best she could. Her shaking arms weren't making things easier, nor were her trembling legs. Someone grabbed her by the waist and tossed her over their shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and treated her like one, head banging on the roof with each step as they entered into the warehouse.

Or, what Anna hoped was a warehouse.

Judging from the grinding of metal, the shrill screams of gears mashing together, and the low, loud, booming sound that shook the building to its core, however, it was not.

* * *

_He had always loved power, revelling in it more than he should have. It was his secret, a hidden weakness, an inner demon that threatened to consume him every tempting second of his life._

_She, however, was his addiction._

_So perfect, and yet so flawed. The scared, young eyes that contrasted to his wife's cold, hard ones; the soft lips that would press to his cheek every night in a gesture of kindness, while the other's were fleeting, quick, and without meaning. The way she looked up to him, saw him as her hero, while he was treated like scum, like a slave by the second one._

_It wasn't hard to choose between them, and yet it was the most tormenting thing he had ever done._

_For while he loved one and despised the other, to choose meant throwing something away. And to throw away plans for a fatherhood, throw away a daughter for the world, push anything away, it would still make his tower topple._

_Then she ran away._

_The decision had to be made, and he had to make the most rational one._

_It was unlikely that he would see her again. And even so, would she still love him as she once did? Would he?_

_So he chose. And as his wife wrapped a hand around his neck and pressed her lips to his, he let his heart harden, until all that was left was a shell of the once spirited, caring young man._

_That day, gone was the loving father, her hero._

_That day, born was the tyrant, the king._

_That day, he swore that she would break no matter what._

_After all, to truly expose one's character, to make their true beauty shine through, first they had to be broken, like a pick to the stone, like a fire to the wood._

_Or like a sheep to the slaughter._

* * *

Kristoff felt his heart skip a beat, maybe more. Everything swam, and his knees almost buckled, unable to cope with the news.

Anna... Kidnapped?!

"You're lying!" It came out as a desperate shout, filled with denial. "You're on something, you're messed up, you're a sick, twisted person! Anna can't be... She isn't!"

He threw his bag to the ground, kicking it to the side, and ran, refusing to look back as their shouts faded behind him, lost to the winter air.

The storm began to pick up.

Soon the snow howled so thickly that even his thick jacket was torn through by the winds, victim to unending torment. His arms felt like lead, legs like stone, face burning and yet as cold as death.

Someone caught him as he fell and the cold lessened, a barrier being out up. Kristoff stared up, Hans's face coming into focus as he sat up blearily.

"Are you alright?"

He shrugged, shivering. "She isn't gone. Anna's fine. She's perfectly safe."

Elsa sighed, raising her cape-like jacket even further over them, staring at the two boys. "I'm with Hans on this one. She's in danger, and we have to help her, alright?"

"But..." Kristoff trailed off, breathing ragged. As he gathered himself, noticing the way Hans had caught him, he waited for Anna's familiar shout of 'CHEMISTRY!', only to hear nothing but the incessant wind whipping at the three.

"Fine." He stood, fists clenched. "I don't know if you're right, but for better or for worse, we're going to go save Anna."

* * *

_His arms hurt more than they had ever hurt before, each muscle stretched to the limit. Fingers as heavy as lead gripped the blade, squeezing as tightly as possible, tips slowly turning the same colour of the ruby liquid dripping down onto the ground._

_The body in front of him lay splayed out on the floor, head twisted back at an odd angle, a thin wire trailing from the back of its neck and up into the rafters._

_He had done it. He had thrown his lot in with a side, and had followed the orders given to him._

_The knife clattered to the floor._

_Blood-stained hands tore at each other, clawing at what they had become; killer, life-taker, murderer. Each gash left white marks that began to slowly darken, sure to leave an imprint for days to come._

_The liquid trailed across his dress shirt, and he tore it off, crumpling it into a ball and throwing it across the floor with a soft, dull thud. There, barely clothed, he clenched his fists, staring at the moonlit body crumpled on the concrete._

_An hand snaked around his neck from behind, and an elusive voice purred, "It seems the project is a success, mm?"_

_His throat vibrated against her wrist as he spoke, words cold and sharp as steel. "It appears to be. Congratulations."_

_Another hand met the first, and he felt a trail of kisses ghost up his neck, followed by the soft murmur, "Does this victory require... Mm, celebration?"_

_He jerked out of her grasp, eyes smouldering with unshed anger. "No! This is not a victory! This is a tragedy, a mishap, the apocalypse... Anything but a gain for us!"_

_"Mm... But it will be..." She stalked forwards, forcing him to back up. "It takes sacrifice to advance anywhere, my dear Lucian. Remember what you gave up for the future? Our future?"_

_"I gave up..." Knuckles whitened as they pressed into the wall, taught and strained. "I gave up my daughter. For this. To become a murderer!" Hands flew at the other's throat in rage, powered by his fury. "I loved her! You know that! Why did force her to leave?!"_

_She chuckled, unabashed by his tightening hands around her neck. "Mm, but remember... I didn't force her out; she ran away on her own accord. She chose to leave you. She chose to have you become this!"_

_He screamed again, roundhouse kicking her backwards, spitting, "Do NOT talk about my daughter that way! EVER!"_

_"Aw, but she wasn't your child even, mm? Why did you take her in again... Oh yes, for your EXPERIMENTS."_

_"I was young and foolish!" He swiped at her, fist connecting with the side of her head with a crack. "I didn't mean to hurt her; I never would have hurt her! Besides, she accepted it!"_

_"It doesn't mean she likes it," the woman taunted, letting out a high-pitched, deranged giggle. "Why would she love you, I mean, really!"_

_BANG_

_"GET OUT!"_

_Nails tore at her limbs, making awful scraping sounds, crimson spattering his skin and pants. She cackled again, unhurt as he lurched back, stunned at how he could be covered in such amounts of blood and not have left a scratch..._

_"Darling, remember, the experiment worked... We've almost got what we always wanted, mm? Don't you recall what we promised?"_

_Her voice was calming and yet hair-raising at the same time, eerily quiet considering the circumstances. He coughed, lowering his arms, and murmured, "We said... We said that we'd fine tune my invention... That we'd make a place for all aspiring inventors to gather and share their ideas... But this... This is just sick! I-I can't..."_

_"Sacrifices, darling. If you can't deal with them, then, mm, GIVE UP. Look what I went through; do you see me complaining? Am I raging at someone who obviously has a better view of the future than me? Am I the insane one here?"_

_He took in the perfect face, perfect body, perfect words, perfect mind, and saw the flaws, the evil, the hidden darkness. If he had given his heart for their dream, she had given her life. All she was now was pure wickedness, the ruler of them all._

_"Yes," he whispered, backing away. "You are. Everyone is. The whole world is going crazy around me, and I'm the only one there to watch it fall."_

* * *

Anna felt the cords tighten around her wrists, and yanked her arms away in panic, only to receive a blow to the back of her head for the trouble. As soon as she felt the rag fall away from her mouth, and her blindfold removed, she let out the loudest scream she had ever put her vocal chords through in her life.

In return she got another whack.

Breathing heavily, she coughed, "What do you want?!" Voice cracking, she continued, blinking back tears if exhaustion and terror and emotional pain. "Why are you doing this?!"

"Someone close to you," the one on the left growled, spitting at her feet. "Someone who our leader has a grudge against."

"But Kristoff doesn't-"

Laughter rang throughout the near-empty warehouse, and the teen in the middle, the leader, drawled, "You thought it was HIM? That blundering know-it-all?! He's almost as bad as Sir Better-Than-You Sudlanis!"

"Hey! He's not!"

"Whatever. Besides, I'd bet anything that they come with her. In fact," he grinned, pulling out a wad of cash, "here. If Kristy and Sir Asshole come here, you can have all this, provided that you get out alive, of course."

Anna stared at the money, bile turning sour in her throat.

"What, you don't want it? C'mon," he smirked, waving it in front of her face, "just reach out and take it! Oh wait, YOU CAN'T!"

Another round of laughter burst out from the threesome, and the girl grit her teeth, worming her fingers behind her to feel what she was tied to. After a quick touch, she let her hand drop down again, knowing that she had no chance of moving the foot-wide metal post.

The bindings, then.

They were plasticky, yet firm, wrapping around her chest, stomach, ankles, and wrists. The bonds did stretch, but barely, so no wiggle room there. As she tried to bend her knee to slide her leg up, a shout startled her back to reality.

"Hey! What are you doing, shorty?!"

"I-I, uh-"

He let out a restrained puff of chuckling, and commented, "Escape is impossible, you realize? We had these made especially for holding people. No one's ever gotten out before. And anyways, if they did, they'd have to deal with us!" He flexed an arm teasingly, and asked flirtatiously, "Wanna feel my muscles?"

"Uh, ew. No."

"Suit yourself." The teen shrugged his arms, relaxed, and sauntered back to his friends, calling over his shoulder as he left, "Sit tight! We'll hopefully be back in time for the action! And if we aren't, well, who's going to untie you then? Ha!"

Anna listened to their excited whoops echo around for a few seconds before doubling her efforts, yanking at her restraints as hard as she could, until there were sore spots rubbed raw under every surface, and her arms began to stiffen.

"HELP! Someone get me out of here!"

No answer.

The tears began to flow, dripping first, then coursing down her cheeks in rivers, staining the collar of her now-rumpled uniform.

Someone save me. Please.

* * *

_He donned his costume, or suit as his wife like to call it, flexing the tight material ever so carefully. It hadn't been worn in motion before, only for modelling, and had never seen the scrapes and cuts of battle._

_Then again, if he had to rein in the evil, it was only best that a new hero came to the town._

_The picture of her face, his daughter, lay crumpled in his hand, on the back scrawled 'NOW' in all capitals. Now meant that the final steps of action had begun. Now meant that the plan had been set in motion. Now meant that everything would change, for better or for worse._

_Now meant that he would have to find her again._

_How would she react? Would they have to fight? Would she get angry? Maybe she would do things worse than anger, and tear his heart in two._

_"You aren't my father, and you never will be!"_

_He gripped the paper tightly, teeth clenched. Hands trembling he drew his tools, a firearm and a knife, and stood on the window edge, Adam's apple bobbing._

_Now or never._

_Never meant safety, meant staying behind a wall, protected, yes, but it also meant the wrath of her, the writer of the note, the one who could have him arrested with the flick of her wrist._

_Now meant seeing her beloved face again, to say goodbye, and meant that he would have his heart torn out again as she breathed her final moments._

_Either way, he lost._

_Then again, someone had to lose, and he was willing to take that sacrifice._

_Spreading his arms, he leaned forwards, body plummeting off the sill and towards the ground, arms straight at sides, falling, falling, falling-_

_Wings extended._

_That night, in the light of the stars, the man whose wings had been cut could now fly once again._

* * *

A snowball hit Kristoff in the back of his head, and he flinched.

"Hey! What was that-"

"For?" Duke chuckled, spitting out the remains of his cigarette. "I dunno, the fact that you're in my line of sight, or that you're so idiotic that you can't even tell where that girl was taken."

"How did you-"

The older boy laughed, pushing off the school wall and lazily making his way forwards. "Tell you what, let's make a deal here. I tell you where the feisty girly is, and you three let me tag along."

Kristoff frowned, apprehensive. "Why? You don't even know her, and you sure as heck don't get along well with Elsa and Hans!"

"Aw, can't I have the chance to be the hero? Besides, maybe I know more to Snow Queen than you do... This is your chance, Kristy."

"Why would you even know where she is in the first place?" He stepped back, arms raised protectively. "Are you up to something?!"

Duke chuckled, leaning in closer to the younger boy. "What's the matter? Scared of a little... Secret? Oh, that's right, you don't have the skills to figure them out, much less the Snow Queen's. But, if I were you, I'd be asking 'what kind of secrets?' And then you'll see..."

"Get AWAY from me!" Kristoff pushed the boy back, cheeks flushed. "I am NOT going to hear them from you, you dirty little- I'm going to set you straight!"

"Ooh, the kitty knows how to play with the tiger... Careful, though, you might get HURT!"

On the last word, Duke delivered a powerful kick to the snow beneath Kristoff, the blonde barely jumping back in time. There was a second of silence, broken only by both's heavy breathing, before they leaped at each other, hands curled into fists.

One solid punch to the jaw knocked the taller back, who growled, retaliating with a knee to the stomach.

Kristoff hit the snow, doubled over, and swivelled, kicking Duke down to his level. As they began to wrestle, clawing at skin, throttling anything that moved, a shout made them freeze.

Elsa glared at the two, eyes alit with vengeful fury. "What are you idiots DOING?!"

When they refused to respond, Duke punching Kristoff again ever so slowly, she growled in frustration, marching towards them and hauling them off each other. "Look, we don't have time for this! Both of you, come on! Hans ran to get his car, so he'll be back any moment, alright?"

The two glared, before muttering a gruff, "Fine."

As they began to walk towards the car, Duke jeered, "So this means I'm coming with you three, huh? Figures you'd need some muscle in this scrawny gang of misfits."

A split second later he was on the ground, Elsa pinning his chest to the ground with one leg, arms held down by hers. "What were you saying?" she breathed, eyes still burning.

Kristoff gaped at the two. "Holy..."

* * *

Anna kicked out as the men moved forwards, aiming for the stomach, the face, between the legs; anywhere that could possibly slow them down.

Nothing worked. She was yanked of the post and roughly pushed forwards, made to walk faster than possible with her unsteady legs. Surrounded on all sides by a pressing mass of people, she lashed out again, but to no avail.

"Where are you TAKING me?!"

Gruff jeering and hollering hit her ears, and she hissed impatiently, punching the nearest man in the arm.

That shut them up.

"You ain't going anywhere, girly. We're taking you to the Raven's Point."

"You just said I wasn't going anywhere."

The thug growled, baring his teeth, a slight flush of embarrassment spreading across his ears. "Raven's Point ain't nowhere! Nowhere 'cept here!"

"Here is still somewhere..."

"Y-you little-"

Another man sighed, pushing Anna roughly in exasperation. "You're confusing his poor, minuscule brain. Just shut up and keep walking."

She glowered at the floor, occasionally reaching out to pick at her bonds. "Fine. Jerks."

There was a growl of pure fury, then a sickening thud. The last thing she saw before being consumed by a haze of crimson was the dull light of the rising moon.

The stars were out tonight.

* * *

Hans glared from the passenger seat, pouting.

"It's my car, so I should drive it..."

"Be quiet," Elsa snapped. "I'm trying to focus. And you two, stop fighting back there! Geez, I feel like a parent or something."

Kristoff withdrew his hand, halfway from nailing Duke in the head. "Sorry. Not."

She turned around and shot him a glare.

"Fine! So, uh, where are we headed?" he asked, hastily changing the subject. "Duke didn't say yet."

"Warehouse block C, north 17."

Duke snapped forwards as he and Elsa chorused the same words together. "Hold on... How'd you know that?!"

Pale knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. "I just do. Now, please, I need silence!"

There was an awkward pause for a few seconds, and Hans hissed back to Kristoff jokingly, "That's cold... Geddit?"

"I heard that!"

After about five minutes of tense silence interrupted by either the two in the back attempting to throw punches at each other or Hans cracking a joke, Elsa groaned, slamming her foot on the brake. "Out!"

"But-"

"OUT!"

The three boys clambered out, shivering at the sudden wind, and glared daggers at the driver.

"I really hate you, ya know?" Duke muttered.

"You can hate me later. Just get your butt inside that warehouse and find Anna!"

"You aren't coming?" Hans frowned, leaning over the passenger window. "Are you sure? I know you aren't best buddies with her and all, but-"

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? Of course I'm coming! I have to park your car, idiot. Do you really want me to leave it in the middle of the road?!"

"Point taken."

The car jerked forwards, sliding off around the corner and down a side street, leaving three boys against an abandoned building filled with God-knows-what.

Kristoff took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."

* * *

_He flew through the air, gliding on wings of which he had made his own. Below, the city only saw night skies, but where he was, beneath a shroud of darkness, he saw the stars._

_Oh, how the stars shone that night. Like blazing candles they danced, their movements almost visible to the naked eye. Guiding, twinkling, strong and cold, they lit the dark alongside the shining moon._

_The moon. He followed it, darting in and out of the star shine, moving what felt like closer and closer, though he was no nearer than he was moments ago._

_Finally, after ages of flying through the air, he alit to his feet on the rooftop, cloak billowing around him with the wind. Staring out at the shining city, hood and mask hiding all expression, he waited, waited for her to come, as she would._

_He would wait for her. For however long it took._

* * *

Elsa jumped out of the car, slamming the door and dashing back up the streets. Cursing as she slipped to her knees, she moved back to the warehouse, careful not to run into something in the dark.

Her ConNet buzzed.

Frowning, she flipped it open, only to have a bolt of terror shoot down her spine as she realized what it meant.

Anna's signal was coming from the warehouse. This would have been totally rational, considering the fact that she had been kidnapped and all, except for one fact.

Her ConNet was still in her backpack. At the school

If it had been at the school earlier, how did it move to the building? Only someone who had traveled from the backpack to the new location could have taken it and...

Oh no.

Bile built in her throat, and she ran faster, not caring how many times she fell, not caring about the snowdrifts she tripped over, not caring if she got hit by a car or a truck or anything.

Someone HAD been at the school. Someone had forced themselves upon the mission, knew where to go, and had a personal grudge with her. Someone would do anything to get back at her.

Duke.

I'm coming, Anna!

* * *

Kristoff slid the door open, wincing as it creaked, sound echoing throughout the entire building. He waved his hand, clearing the dust, and squinted into the darkness, struggling to make out the shapes. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

"This isn't good..." Duke scowled, coughing as he inhaled the dust from the building. "I swear, if they messed up-"

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing." The eldest boy nudged his way forwards, cupping his hands over his mouth to yell, "HEY! C'mon out, you cowards! Where are you?!"

"Look out!"

Hans yelled his warning too late, the swinging girder crashing into the ground just inches from the three, slamming into the rotting floor and carving a twenty foot gap between him and Kristoff.

Wood creaked threateningly, the drop to the basement below far enough to shroud the unseen floor in shadow. Scrambling to the edge, Kristoff hauled himself and Duke as far away from the gap as possible, calling out to Hans on the other side.

"Are you OK?!"

Silence. Then...

"Uh, yeah... Ow!" The boy's rusty brown hair appeared in the shaft of moonlight, and he waved nervously from across the chasm. "I think I'm stuck on this side though."

Well this sucked.

"Look, Duke and I'll head up, alright? Can you find another set of stairs to get to the top floor or something? You can't get across, or get to the exit!"

Hans eyed the space where the floor had been and gulped. "Yeaaah... I'm going to go this way. Hopefully I'll see you... Before whoever got Anna gets to us... Bye!" He turned off to the left, walking slowly at first, then picking up his speed until he was running at full tilt down the hall and away from the other two.

Duke rubbed his head, sitting up with a groan and hissed, "Now what?!"

"Um, there I think..." He pointed one shaking finger to the rickety wooden steps leading up to the next level of the warehouse. "Towards the top floor."

"Greeeeeat. More walking with an idiot. What a great night this is turning out to be."

"Shut up and start climbing."

* * *

_He felt her gaze on his back before he saw her, and heard her sharp intake of breath as she recognized who he was._

_"You!"_

_"Me." He sighed, shifting to his feet, one edge on the edge of the roof, the other planted precariously behind him for balance. "Look, I know things aren't-"_

_"Shut your mouth!"_

_Eyes widened, both her and his. She had never spoken like that to him, to anyone before. Mouth set in a determined line, she continued, spitting out, "You are a terrible father, even without considering what you did to me! How could you?!"_

_"I-It wasn't me, I swear it was her; she made me-"_

_"I don't care. You treated me like I meant something to you, and yet behind my back you do THIS?" She jabbed a finger at her temples, pointing to the small, one inch scar that lay on otherwise unmarked skin. "After losing one family, and coming SO close to death, I finally had a home! Parents! And then you take it all away with your stupid EXPERIMENT!"_

_She backed away from him, hands clutched to her chest in anger and fear. "I never asked for this! Why couldn't you have just left me there to DIE?!"_

_Silence followed the outburst, broken only by her choked, quiet sobs. Standing there, in the moonlight, on the rooftop, he felt as if he was some sort of comic book character, someone from the ultimate stand off between good and evil._

_His throat clenched as he took in her kneeling, broken figure, and the tears dripping slowly to the concrete._

_I'm the villain._

_And he too began to weep._

_He had only ever wanted to be her hero. All he wanted was to keep her safe and happy, free from the harm of the world. Yet how much more pain had he caused than stopped? Would it have even made a difference if he didn't take her in? Would she still..._

_Would she still hate him?_

_The tears slowed. He righted himself, wiping away any sign of his sadness, and coughed awkwardly, murmuring, "I know it's hard to cope with. I gave you a burden which should have been mine, and yet I did not carry it."_

_She sniffed, still on her knees. "Why? Why didn't you take your own weights, your own sufferings? Why give them to me?"_

_"I was a coward." He clenched his fists, continuing, "I was afraid. I was so eager to see what I could do, yet I only wanted the good sides, not the bad. I wanted the wonders and magic, not pain and suffering..."_

_"But what was my purpose here... What did I do?"_

_"You... You were my daughter. I loved you as one, and up until I lost myself to the power, I treated you as one. And I couldn't bear to see you taken away from me, so I... I followed through with my foolhardy dream, taking away things so important to you..."_

_He reached for his mask, pushing back the hood and fumbling for a moment with the straps before letting the metal covering slip to the ground with a clatter. "Can you forgive me?"_

_She saw the curving, bloody scratch that trailed from his forehead to ear in a diagonal carving, and stifled a small scream, stumbling to her feet. "Wh-what is..."_

_"This is my reminder." His voice cracked, and he sighed, running a hand through tangled chocolate locks. "I never should have done what I did. I never should have intervened with what fate you were given. But I did. So this... This will haunt me forevermore. It's my burden."_

_"D-Dad..."_

_"I've done all I can. I've borne enough punishment. So please, please! Come back home! Let me finish the project! I swear, it'll all be over, and we can finally get along, father and daughter. Please..."_

_His gloved hand reached out, closing half the distance between the two. "Please..."_

_"Y-you..." She swallowed, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. "You don't even care! All you see is your stupid experiment! All you see is what benefits are there for YOU! Well guess what, 'Dad'! Maybe you'll finally see that I'm NOT going to help you here! You made a mistake including me in this, and I refuse to participate!"_

_"W-wait, I didn't mean-"_

_"Goodbye, Dad! I'm NOT coming back alright? And for the record, if I see your face again..." She drew two fingers across her throat, glaring, before running to the edge, flinging herself down into the snowbank below and taking off into the night._

_He ran to the edge, heart plummeting lower and lower with each footstep she took. "Wait! Please, I just wanted..."_

_She's gone, and it's all your fault._

_Letting out a scream, he lifted his head to the stars, each one burning down with the cold, harsh light of her eyes, and yelled, "WHY? WHY, GOD?!"_

_No answer._

_Her steps faded, and he buried his head in his hands, crying over and over as the stars began to fade, "Wait, please wait... Please wait for me!"_

_Then, for the first time what seemed like ages, he whispered her name, sending along with it all his sorrows and regrets._

_"I'm sorry, Elsa. I'm so, so sorry..."_

* * *

Please be safe. Oh please, be safe!

Elsa ran, feet pounding against the snow, night roads a blur around her. Street lamps faded into splotches of light, the cold wind battering her skin like icy needles.

Rounding the corner, she saw the massive, rickety building, towering over the newer, modern warehouses around it. At the very top of the roofing was a tower that had clearly been added later, a narrow, planked walkway leading off into midair.

Glancing back down, she saw that the door had been forced open, leading into a darkened room filled with the stench of rotting wood. Stepping inside, Elsa let out a small gasp as she narrowly avoided stepping through the gap in the floor, back-peddling as fast as she could.

One path was blocked by the chasm, so the stairs were the only option.

There was a scream from above, a very feminine scream, followed by gruff yelling and the sound of something heavy hitting the wood.

Anna!

Duke could wait. For now all that mattered was to save her.

Feet pounded towards the steps, not caring of the vibrations they created, only to move, move faster, climb harder, and most importantly, get to Anna!

Deep below, the wooden support beams of the warehouse trembled as it struggled to support the rocky movements of those above.

Another crash, and one let out a loud crack, the floor visibly tilting to the left about a foot.

Once, this building could have held a multitude. Now, though, worn away through the passage if time, it would have only lasted a few more years. And with all the excessive moment, and the cold, humid conditions, it would come down soon than expected.

The abandoned warehouse would come down tonight.

* * *

Kristoff felt his blood turn to ice as he heard the scream.

Beside him, Duke swore loudly, eyes wide, and began to back away for the stairs, glancing up at the next floor. "What was that?!"

"I don't know!" He pressed his hand against the railing for support, taking each step carefully, wincing as they creaked and groaned.

Another scream burst from above them, followed by pained, agonized sobbing. The boys shared a mutual glance of are-we-going-to-get-the-hell-out-of-here-or-keep-going, and began to run, onwards and upwards into the shadows.

A hand closed around Kristoff's shoulder, and he yelped, batting it away and pining the owner to the wall. "H-hey!"

Elsa glared, yanking her arm free. "Cool your jets! It's me!"

"You finally decided to show up, huh? Took long enough," sneered Duke. "Then again, I suppose prissy Snow Queen would keep her sorry butt out of danger for as long as possible, huh?"

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "And here I was thinking that you had finally gotten a bit better..."

Three steady thuds echoed from above them, and Kristoff beckoned towards the steps. "This way. There's only a few more floors to go."

"Wait, hold on. Where's Hans?"

"We got separated. Someone either planted a sort of trap, or the girder just fell on its own, but either way, he's going around. He said he'll meet us at the top if he can find another way."

"He'd better move fast..."

As they ventured up the steps, the quiet pounding that echoed to the ground below seemingly much quieter than the thudding of their hearts, Duke inhaled sharply, muttering, "Make this fast... It's gonna come crashing down."

"What?"

"The building. It'll-"

There was a massive crash, followed by maniacal, guttural laughter, the sound ringing so loudly to the point of deafening.

Kristoff pounded forwards, the final landing in sight, wooden door slightly ajar. Behind him rushed Elsa, struggling to keep up, and at the rear a hesitant, slightly apprehensive Duke.

"Anna!"

He shouldered the door, dashing straight into the room-

There she was.

Chained to the end of some sort of walkway, blood dripping from a gash on her forehead, Anna stood, a cloaked figure, holding her by the neck, jagged knife inches away from her throat.

"Get AWAY from her!"

The man jerked upwards at the sight of the trio, and what was visible of his face twisted into a smirk.

"Why hello there young man. Did you come to retrieve your prize?"

"He said, get AWAY," Duke growled, stepping forwards, holding out a jet-black pistol in his fists. "Did'ja here me? Back OFF!"

The man shrugged, before shoving Anna to the side and whipping out a gun of his own, aiming it straight at the threesome. "Go on. Try and shoot! I'll have the three of you DEAD before you can even move! Ha!"

Kristoff froze.

"Not so cocky now, huh? You thought you were so smart, but now," he snarled, kicking Anna's barely-conscious body towards them, aiming the weapon at each on of the four in tun, "now you're all going to HELL."

Duke roared, and turned on the spot, switching his target from the man to Anna, spitting, "Here's the deal. You let me live, and I'll do it for you, you bastard!"

"What? Duke, no-" Elsa pleaded, pulling Anna to her feet and holding her to her chest. "Please don't-"

"Interesting! I'd like to see this play out... Continue!"

He leered at them, finger hovering over the trigger. "Aw, you thought I reformed? You bunch of SAPS!"

Anna's eyes snapped open, and she stumbled away from Elsa, arms extended in front of the other two protectively. "D-don't... Please Duke... Don't k-kill..."

"You first, then the Queen."

There was the snap of the lever, a bursting gunshot, and a loud, sickening spatter, followed by Anna's gut-wrenching, agonizing scream.

* * *

**I'M SORRY PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! *covers face in shame***

**Feel free to throw a cement review at me or something. I will gladly use them to build an even bigger cliff for the next cliffhanger! Ah hah hah! But seriously, I just launched a plot twist AND a cliffy HO SNAP, TEDDY IS SERIOUS HERE!**

**Update will be in about two weeks. D'ya think you can hold onto the cliff that long?**

**Don't forget to review with your thoughts on the chapter! They make my day!**

**UNTIL NEXT TIME! *maniacal laugh***

**-Teddy**


	6. Chapter 6

I thought I would just fall over and die right then and there.

Not because it was I who had been harmed; far from it. In fact, if it had been me who took that bullet, that awful, smoking piece of metal, it would have hurt much less than the sight that was laid before me that night.

Anna was ready to take a bullet.

Anna was ready to take a BULLET.

Just in a futile attempt to stop Duke from harming Elsa and I; just to stop a boy she had only met a month ago from getting hurt; just to stop (dare I even say it) the ones she LOVED from unnecessary pain.

As I said, it was futile.

She tried, I know. She tried so hard to stop us from getting hurt. I could she it in the brief moment she passed by me, silvery moonlight glancing off her cerulean eyes, shaky, unsteady limbs drenched in blood forcing her to move forwards, out of the arms of safety and into danger.

How could I not have felt so badly; no, such AGONY when I saw it was all for nothing?

* * *

The bullet flicked past, barely visible, a large crack emanating from the gun the moment Duke pressed the trigger.

Anna screamed, squeezing her eyes shut as she used the last of her strength to throw herself forwards-

Only to be too late, failing to stop the bullet's path from carrying forwards, failing to protect, failing to save anyone.

The sickening spatter of blood hit the ground, followed by a thud as Elsa dropped to her knees, clutching at her shoulder, face contorted in silent pain.

"ELSA!"

The man began to laugh, gloved hands slowly clapping behind the cloak that shrouded his entire body. "Nicely done! Duke, was it? Very nice!"

"No, hold on, you'll be fine-" Kristoff tore the end of his shirt off, pressing it against the steady flow of ruby liquid soaking into the blonde's shirt. "Just keep pressure on it!"

The gun fired again, projectile embedding itself in the fragile wood above Kristoff's head, causing the boy to flinch in terror. "I wouldn't move if I were you, Kristy..." Duke snarled, aiming the weapon down at Anna's silent form. "Hands up. And step away from the Snow Queen!"

"Don't hurt them! Please!"

"Get BACK!"

Kristoff glared defiantly, albeit with the slightest hint of controlled fear, and slowly raised his hands, stepping away from the two girls. "Why?" he pleaded, backing against the rough wooden wall. "Why are you doing this?!"

"None of your business." The older boy motioned to Elsa and Anna, and asked gruffly, "What do I do with these two?"

"It's a pity to let them die without a fight..." The man stroked his chin, pocketing his gun again. "You know, why don't we have a little fun... You watch the prisoners. I'll take this one." He motioned towards Elsa's body, where she lay clutching at the wound, silent tears marking tracks down her cheeks.

"No! Don't you dare-"

A sharp kick was delivered to his stomach, and he doubled over, coughing, only able to watch helplessly as the hooded man dragged his friend away, leaving a sticky, metallic trail of blood along the wood.

As he lay, curled into a ball on the floor of the wide, almost-empty room, he heard the lower floors creaking, the sounds of grinding gears and small explosions shaking the very building to its core.

Kristoff buried his face in his sleeve, desperately trying to contain his fear, his anger, his self-doubt, his sickening thoughts of what would happen-

I never even got to say goodbye.

His eyes burned, and he lifted his head just enough to see a watchful Duke training his gun on Anna, one wary eye on each captive. Seeing her lying there, broken and wounded, he made a promise, one that he would use as his beacon in the hours to come.

No matter what, I will get us all out of here alive.

This, however, was yet another promise that wasn't allowed to be kept.

* * *

Lucian rapped his fingers quietly on Anna's bedroom door, calling softly, "Hey, sweetie, it's dinner time. Could you come down?"

No answer.

Frowning, he knocked again, harder this time, repeating, "It's dinner time. Come on down."

Still nothing.

Sighing, he pushed on the handle, and frowned as it stayed put, refusing to budge. "Anna, unlock this door. If something's up, we can talk about it, alright? Let me in."

After waiting for an answer, Lucian dropped his arms, frowning. "Look, if you're going to shut yourself in, can you at least do it after dinner?" For an added effect, he paused, before whispering,"You know, Adeline might take all of the chocolate cake before you can have any..."

Silence.

"Fine. Fine!" He gave the panelling a frustrated kick, rolling his eyes and muttering, "Don't come crying if you're hungry later..."

The hinges creaked as the door swung open, chair that had been forced under the handle dislodged from the movement, crashing to the floor. Inside, clothes lay scattered across every available surface, homework lay in a head beside the sink, and the computer cast a soft glow as a tiny icon bounced back and forth across the screen. However, missing were the backpack and phone, jacket, and, most alarmingly, Anna herself.

His heart leaped into his throat, and he choked out, "Where are you?"

"Lucian! What are you waiting for?!"

He jumped, and sighed nervously back out to the top of the stairs. "Honey, have you seen Anna? She's not in her room..."

"She probably went to a friend's house or something! Stop worrying, and come downstairs, mm?"

"But what if she's hurt, or lost, or something happened, or-"

"A word of advice, dear? Listen to me when I'm talking to you. Now, if I say come down so we can eat, you...?"

Lucian groaned. "I come down, yes. I'm just concerned for her well being. Isn't that what fathers do?"

"You aren't actually her father, you realize?"

Ouch. That stung.

"It is my duty as her guardian to look out for her, alright? It doesn't matter if we're biologically related or not. Blood has nothing to do with this."

There was a burst of high-pitched laughter, and Adeline's shrill voice cackled, "Blood has NOTHING to do with this?! Ah ha ha! Blood has everything to do with everything, my dear Lucian! How could you have forgotten?"

He had tried to forget the past, but in the end it was just too painful to give up.

* * *

Elsa felt the hot, burning metal sear into her shoulder, bringing with it an explosion of pain and agony. The warehouse dissolved, everything spinning and twisting, a wave of bright red engulfing her vision.

She thought she had known pain.

But she was wrong.

This was unlike anything else; not stinging like a cut, not throbbing like a bruise, but instead like bitter, burning, torture. Clawing tendrils of torment laced their way up her arm and into her body, and she bit her lip, tasting blood, desperately trying not to cry out.

Something pressed against her shoulder, and she was dimly aware of the thick liquid soaking against her skin, but she pushed the thought away as her stomach heaved, and focused on the wound in her upper arm.

Ow ow ow ow dammit ow ow ow GOD OW ow-

Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to make the central point of pain a focal point.

Suddenly, the pressure on her body vanished, and she felt wave of dizziness as yet another spurt of warm crimson made its way onto her shirt. There was a thud next to her, a blurred symphony of voices, a shout, and-

And all of a sudden, she was being carried, bridal style, back arched, fingers trailing ruby droplets as they ran down her arm and spattered against the floor. Another yell sounded behind her, and she grit her teeth, attempting to push out of her captor's arms but only managing to wriggle slightly against his chest.

A low, guttural chuckle sounded from the body she was pressed against, sending chilling vibrations against her blood-soaked skin. "Don't worry, Elsa. It'll all be over soon. Finally, just like you wanted. You'll get what you should have been given seven years ago."

"I... Ah... Wha..."

Her words tumbled out, mangled from pain, eyes cracking open slightly to try and catch a glimpse of the man, but to no avail. His rhythmic footfalls carried her in a steady up and down motion, the pattern soothing the ache in her shoulder long enough for her to spit, "What d'you... mean?"

"I mean," he continued, "what you were going to give up. Don't you remember? Fire, and smoke, and-"

"S-stop..."

"-and the crashes around you, the unbearable heat, the blistering pain, and then the cool, clear silence... Only to be interrupted by a foolish, naive young man too self-centred to see what he was doing."

Elsa coughed, and spat, "W-what does this have... to do with anything?"

He smiled, head tilting back just far enough to reveal a crooked grin in the moonlight. "First, I'll break you. Then... Then comes the fun part."

A chill ran down her spine, and she clutched at her arm, ignoring the tightening in her chest and the increase in the pounding of her heart. Instead, she focused on one face, and tried her hardest to send her message, to save the one she couldn't so many years ago.

Wake up!

* * *

Plates clattered against the sink, cutlery scattering with a crash. After stopping for a moment to right the pile, Lucian turned towards the stairs, taking each step two at a time, making his way to Anna's bedroom. He pushed inside and slid into the desk chair, shaking the mouse to wake the computer from its sleep.

The screen lit up, showing multiple windows open to research sites, boy band music, social networking, and an unfinished video about the importance of penguins. Navigating through the tabs, he opened up a browser and tapped at the keys, finally finding the site he wanted.

At the top, next to the bright-green title 'ConNet', he entered Anna Rendale into the search bar. After a moment of loading, a small icon popped up, requesting a password. Lucian moved to type, only to freeze as he realized he had no idea what it was.

This is a bit of a problem.

'wannabuildasnowman'? Bzzt.

'foreverfirst'? Nope.

'annathebanana'? Try again.

He stared upwards at the ceiling, pondering what on earth could be the code, and, after a moment, smiled, keying in 'p4ssw0rd' and tapping enter.

Bingo.

"That's my Anna..."

A street map popped up, green dot flashing above a large, square building, labeled 'South Lake Mechanics'. Four other ConNet signatures flitted around, one of them, RegaleRoyale, standing out the most. Lucian frowned, then bolted upright, realization springing to the front of his mind.

"Honey! Adeline! We have a problem!"

A snarky retort flitted up the stairs. "Whaaaaat?"

"I've found her. I've found both of them."

"What?" This time the answer was serious, accompanied by a sharp intake of breath.

"The warehouse. They're at the warehouse. We have to go!"

A sharp clanking resonated, and Adeline's dry whisper floated towards his ears, calling, "It's time for our plan to begin..."

* * *

Anna shook her head, dazed, trying to clear the fuzziness from her mind. A knife at her throat, and Kristoff, and Duke with a gun, and Elsa, and...

She blinked, finally realizing she wasn't in the warehouse anymore. Instead, she stood outside on an icy terrain, flat and bleak, snowflakes floating downwards lazily to the tundra below.

"What on earth..."

"You're dreaming."

A startled yelp escaped her throat, and she whirled around, falling backwards with a grunt, staring at the owner of the voice. "Ah!"

Elsa giggled, holding out a hand. "Hi!"

"Bwah?! But you're... I'm not... This isn't real... WHAT?!"

"I'm... Elsa. Are... You... OK?" She enunciated each word slowly, as if explaining something to an extremely small child.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks. But, um, are you the real Elsa? Like, really?"

"What'ya mean?"

"Like... Are you actually like here-inside-my-head here because although that is slightly creepy it would be so freaking awesome if I could do that too, ya know? I mean, if you are real."

She laughed, and replied, "Probably not. I'm not THAT cool. I'm just a figment of your imagination."

"...Oh."

"Soooo..."

"So what?" Anna turned, staring at Not-Elsa quizzically.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Well, obviously I'm going to wait until I stop dreaming and get back to the real world... And, actually, how do I do that? Go home?"

Not-Elsa pouted. "But then I won't exist anymore..."

"Uh, you never did in the first place..."

"Whatever." The blonde waved her hand nonchalantly, sticking her tongue out in a way that definitely defined the fact she was NOT the real 'Snow Queen'. "If you want to go home, you have to wait for someone to come and get you out."

"E-excuse me?!"

"A wake up call! An alarm clock! Something that's loud, and kinda, well, jerks you awake, and suddenly, BAM! You're back!"

"...I'm starting to regret ever imagining you."

"Well, what did you expect? It's not like you could just walk out or something. It's a tundra, not some sort of fancy-pants mansion, genius!"

Anna twisted her fingers together for a moment, and asked, "Can't I just imagine a way back? Like, hello! I'm in my head! Simple, right?"

"Uh, no. But you can try if you want. I won't stop you."

"Of course you can't. You're not real."

The sharp kick to the back of her leg moments later certainly FELT real, but she shrugged it off and scrunched up her nose, trying to imagine a gate appearing and opening and-

THUD

"Huh. You actually did it," commented Not-Elsa, sticking out her lower lip. "Now I have to go away."

Anna blinked, one eyebrow raised at the rather questionable-looking door that had appeared before her. Burnt red on one side, and snow white on the other, and attached to absolutely nothing, it made for a peculiar sight.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she stepped forwards and placed her palm on the handle, turning slightly back to Not-Elsa. "So, uh... I wake up if I go through here?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. You might as well try, though."

"Um, OK."

The knob clicked, and before she could step through, darkness closed in around her and she was thrown into the shadows, into the world beyond.

* * *

Kristoff eased his body off the ground, scooting forwards just the slightest bit, trying not to attract attention. Face pressed against cool wood, he slid another inch, moving towards Anna's unconscious form.

A rustle of fabric sounded off to his left, Duke fidgeting in his chair. No matter how cool he appeared on the outside, even someone as tough as him was prone to the ultimate enemy: boredom.

Patience was key here. Moving too soon would result in nothing; to wait was to win.

He was rewards minutes later, though it seemed like hours, when their guard finally stood and, after taking a quick glance over his shoulder for the hooded man, darted to the door, calling over his shoulder, "Don't try anything; I'll be right back, ya hear me?"

"Mmph." Kristoff spat his answer into the wood pressed up against his face, and as soon as he heard the knob click, sprang to his feet, rushing over to Anna and pulling her into his arms.

"I've got you. You'll be fine!"

She gave no response, the only sound coming from her mouth the ragged, shallow intake of breath.

When I find the guy who did this to you-

Metal screeched and scraped below, and with a newfound sense of urgency, he carried the girl to the thick, iron door, crouching behind it, falling again into the rhythm of waiting.

Don't worry. I'll keep you safe.

Thick footsteps came from below, and the doorknob jiggled, lock scraping against doorframe as slowly, ever so slowly, it was unlocked.

Without missing a beat, Kristoff kicked forwards, door smashing into the figure behind it and knocking them to the floor with a thud. Something clattered across the ground, clanking against the walkway railing and soaring over the edge, down to the abyss below.

Duke bellowed, clutching his nose, and reached for his gun, only to discover the now-empty holster free of any type of weapon.

"Why you little-!"

Kristoff swung his leg again, driving his heel into the older boy's stomach, and ran, sneakers pounding against metal, Anna's forehead thudding softly against his chest. He ignored the building cramp in his side, and pressed on, drawing the girl in his arms closer to his body with every step.

"It's OK! Everything's OK now! We're going to make it!"

* * *

Elsa shuddered as something cool pressed against her left wrist, feeling the sharp, thin edge of the needle hover over her skin. Granted, she couldn't be sure it was a needle, as she was still laid across the man's arms, head tilted back at an uncomfortable angle, but she was almost certain.

Something akin to fire shot up her arm, and she yelped, mentally noting that no, it was NOT an ordinary needle.

"Aw, Elsa, does it hurt?" A voice broke through her thoughts, and she grit her teeth against the next wave, struggling to hide her pain. "Don't worry," he continued, driving the point further into her skin, "it'll all be over in a heartbeat. Well, at least for you. Me, I'd rather live, thanks."

Her breath caught in her throat, and she managed a weak, "You... Kill...?"

His low chuckle came again, and he smirked, adding, "Oh no, not me. It won't be by my hands you die."

"O-oh..."

"No, not me. Such a task will be up to your so-called friends, who, if I am correct, will be arriving very shortly."

A heartbeat skipped.

"...What?!"

"They'll be here soon. I'd image they'e quite desperate to escape that other boy back there... Duke, was it?"

"No, no... They'll kill... Me?"

Arms jerked with laughter when he cackled, unceremoniously shifting her body up and down as he yanked the needle out, letting a watery drop of red fall from the tip and into her platinum blonde hair. "Of course! After all," he leered, bending over so his hooded face was inches from hers, warm breath ghosting across her lips, "that's what friends are for."

A memory flashed.

Then the substance from the needle took hold, and she was frozen, unmoving, unable to do anything, only to watch in horror as he raised his curving blade to her throat, tilting her head back and drawing the slightest beads of blood.

"Eternal sleep isn't always nice. But then again, "to sleep, perchance to dream..." Isn't that what you've always wanted?"

Warm ruby spilled over, and soon the trickle flowed to a river. As Elsa's eyes caught the light of the stars, shining with a dark sort of emptiness, she finally received her chance to dream.

Oh, but now, it was a nightmare.

* * *

"Faster, faster!"

"W-wait! I can't run like you can!"

"C'mon, slowpoke! You'll miss it!"

"I'm coming!"

Two children ran, laughing, up the grassy hill, girl chasing the boy, finally sprawling in a heap at the top, out of breath.

"Wow," he panted, rolling over so he could look at her. "I don't think I've ever run so fast before!"

She giggled. "That's 'cause I was chasing you!"

"You weren't! I was winning!"

"Same thing, dummy!"

They stared at each other in mock rage for a moment, before busting out into another round of laughter, shoving at each other playfully. Lying there, as the sky began to fill with pinks and oranges and reds and yellows, the two smiled, splayed out side by side, staring upwards.

Eventually, he caught her hand in his, and squeezed it, whispering, "Hey Elsa?"

"Yeah?" she replied, blushing the slightest.

"When I'm ten, and I hafta move to my papa's... Can you promise we'll still be friends?"

"Uh, duh, silly! You're my bestest friend! I don't think I could ever forget you!"

He smiled, and shifted his eyes to the skies. "That's good. That's really good... I don't ever want to have to leave you behind."

"Me neither."

They lay there a while, as the heavens darkened and brought out a sparkling expanse of stars, simply enjoying each other's company, lost in a world of their own. Minute by minute, hour by hour the time ticked as the two stayed together, not separating even though the city in front of them was changing rapidly, faster than either was able to comprehend.

Then, they grew up.

The next time they met, it was his birthday. Taller, faces more angular, they made up the slim forms of ten-year-olds, barely hitting puberty. He coughed awkwardly, holding her hand, ignoring the jeers and cat-calls from the whooping boys below, watching them. Elsa blushed, and squeezed one hand tightly, reassuring him, the other holding a brightly wrapped gift.

"I got this for you."

"...Oh." In a very small, very shy voice, he stammered, "You shouldn't have..."

She laughed softly, and pressed the box into his arms. "Open it when you get home, OK? It's special; I got it just for you. I don't want those jerks taking it..."

"They are a bit rude. But they're boys. I guess they'll all be like that."

"Even you?"

A crooked smile crept across his face, and he grinned. "Even me..." And on an awkward attempt to mock the other boys' cruel taunts, he added, "...Cutie."

"Same to you, ya dork." She smirked, and leaned over, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, mouthing, "Cutie."

A dark blush spread over his features, and he began to laugh, holding her hand even tighter, as they said goodbye for one last time.

Next, it was nighttime.

He was built, but not bulky, easily reaching the tree branch they struggled to climb to as kids. Military uniform, cap pushed back on an angle in an attempt at rebellion, eyes clouded with fond memories of the childhood spent on the hill.

Elsa, on the other hand, was still small, still child sized, but with a sense of dignity and authority, even though she only reached up to his chest. Fearful, she clutched at her hair, fingers woking at the braid nervously with each passing second.

"Oh Elsa..."

And she drew back from his outstretched arms, hands, for some reason, clothed in pale blue cloth. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know you..."

It was an obvious lie, they both knew it, but the fact she attempted it still stung. He held back an anguished cry, and choked, "Why...?"

"I don't want to hurt you again."

He winced at the memory, at the day he lost control, she lost control. They lost control. "But you won't..."

"But what if I do?"

She let a tear slip silently, almost unnoticeable in the pale moonlight. Sighing, she brought a hand to her chest, only to have it intercepted by his, feeling the warmth of his skin from behind her glove, emanating even through the rough fabric.

"You won't."

And she cried, burying her head in his chest, arms around him, letting out a stream of painful reminiscence no teenage should have had to bear. Each tear was for a day, a day she had spent without him, a day he had spent without her, staining his crisp navy jacket with a dark pool overtop of the crest.

He held her, drawing her close, fingering each strand of her hair as she sobbed, whispering it's OK, I've got you..."

But he didn't; no one did, and the next time she stood, at seventeen, she stood alone.

"I miss you..."

A fragile voice cracked as the sun rose, hands shaking as she moved nearer and nearer to the cliff edge of the hill, staring at the sprawling metropolis below. Flowers wavered as she placed them at the foot of the tree, beneath the thin, detailed inscription carved into the tree.

"Please come back..."

On the wood was a simple carving of a cross, with skies above, water below, and fire surrounding a burning craft below that-

'...Lost at sea. No body found...'

The letter had been devastating. It was as if someone had wrenched Elsa's heart out of her chest and crushed it, removing all hope, all hope to continue, all hope to carry on. And as she stared at the edge, ready to jump, she allowed herself a question before the fall.

"Will I get to see you again?"

Feet slipped, and a hand tore at her shoulder along with the wind, though there was no one else there, crying out, "Wait! Please wait, please...!"

"No!"

Elsa felt her shoulder meet dirt, having been pushed back from the edge, and felt the tears brimming again, prickling at the corners of her eyes. Wiping them away, she tore at the cloth surrounding her hands, restricting her, and threw them to the wind where the torn remain scattered, blowing down the drop and to the ground.

She watched them go, and, with a terrible, terrible sense of constraint, of control, she reached into her pocket almost automatically, and drew out another pair, slipping them on like she wad thousands of times before.

"You were the one fault in my system, the one unpredictable, unchangeable, immovable fault that kept thing together like only imperfection could... And now that you are gone, though I am close to becoming a god, I fear that I will never get to see you one more time..."

She swallowed, and, turning away, giving the tree and flowers one last glance, she whispered, "Do you forgive me?"

The question lay unanswered, and still would lay open for a very long time.

* * *

Kristoff felt Anna begin to stir in his arms, and held her closer, to stop her from thrashing about. Feet pounding against each step, he slid around the corner only to backpedal violently as he narrowly missed running straight off the edge off a rotting, collapsed walkway. Heart thudding, he let out a strangled gasp, staring at the drop, and backed away, pressing against the iron handrail as to not lose his balance.

A shout came from behind him, belonging to a very angry Duke, and he moved faster, retracing his steps and dashed along the walkway searching for a stairwell, an elevator, any mode of transportation that had the mode get-us-the-heck-out-of-here.

A large, ten foot high double door lay ajar at the end of the aisle, thin trail of blood staining the wood dark. He barrelled towards it, gasping for breath, and kicked it open, slamming the door behind him and collapsing against it with a thud.

Safe.

Something heavy collided with the wood, and he winced. Not safe!

He gently placed Anna on the floor and pressed his palms up against the wood, forcing it back against the pressure, keeping it put with all his strength. If he could just keep it closed for a little while longer-

Another shockwave rippled through the building, and he stumbled, falling back just as the door was given a hard blow, crashing open and slamming into the wall with a sharp whack.

Duke snarled, fists raised, nose swollen to the size of an apple, bleeding and furious. "Miss me, Kristy?"

And with that, he leapt forwards and attacked.

* * *

Anna felt the world shake around her, and swivelled around, trying to make sense of what was going on. Not-Elsa had said going through a door led to the real world, but this fiery, shaking, hellish land was most definitely NOT home.

Next time, I'm not trusting any advice that comes from a semi-sentient being living inside my own head. Or my own advice, for that matter.

Throwing out a hand into the air, she yelled loudly, "Hey! A little help over here?"

A reedy cackle floated upwards, and a voice hissed, "My my... What's this? Is poor little Anna all lost and alone now? Have her friends abandoned her?"

"Indeed, indeed... No hope, no, not at all."

"Such a pity..."

Two twisting, snake-like heads that writhed around each other until their singular body came into view floated up out of the dark, voices filled with mock sympathy.

"No one will come to help her..."

"What do you want?!" Anna shouted, swiping at the head that had just spoken. "What are you? And where am I?!"

"Don't you recognize us? That's a shame..."

"Yes, it's quite nice to have a familiar taste, and ravish the familiar taste of fear..."

"We feed off it you see..."

"Always hungry, always feasting..."

She balled her fists, and stepped back from the monster and farther into the red fog, repeating, "What are you?!"

"Ahh..." crooned the left head, weaving closer towards Anna. "We are your inner demons... The source of all fear, the beginning of all that is empty and lost..."

"I am Hopelessness!" chanted the right.

"I am Despair!" snarled the left.

"And together," they hissed, snaking around Anna's arms and pinning her to their body, "we will tear every last ounce of that wretched goodness from you, until you have lost the very will to live!"

A loud boom shook the metaphorical world, and Despair let out a wail, disentangling from the girl and choking, "Who dares wake you at a time like this?"

Two worlds began to mix together, blending seamlessly, and all of a sudden the demos winked out of existence, replaced by a sea of blackness punctuated only by the rapid grunts and thuds of a fistfight.

"Take that, Kristy!"

THUD

"Nng! 'Course I... Can..."

Kristoff!

And all of a sudden, Anna was back.

* * *

Kristoff swung blindly, aiming for Duke's head but missing, and catching his knuckle on the sharp edge of a protruding board. His vision was still clouded, but he fought against the exhaustion dragging at his limbs, repeating over and over again, "This is for Anna!"

When a sharp kick knocked his head backwards, his nose erupting in pain with a sickening crack, he remembered, "This is for Anna."

When he was slammed against the walkway's railing, a blunt force pounding into his stomach again and again, he reminded himself, "This is for Anna."

When the thin metal bars behind him gave way with a groan, and he was left pinwheeling his arms, desperately grabbing for a handheld but failing, and feeling the air rush as the ground raced upwards-

This was for Anna.

A hand snagged his wrist, and with a jolt so great he thought his arm might wrench itself out of its socket, he stopped falling, suspended over a fall that would surely lead to a broken something-or-other, or worse.

His stomach churned with vertigo, and he rotated his head back upwards to catch a better sight of his rescuer. However, the sharp overhead lighting mixed with the tall shadows cast from the girders made it almost impossible to make out their face; at least at this angle.

As if his brain had just realized it, Kristoff suddenly remembered the drop he was currently hanging over, and gulped, beads of sweat trickling down his neck.

"Uh... A little help?" he rasped, grasping the other person's wrist to hold on to his lifeline more tightly. "Not that I'm complaining about you saving me or anything, but I'm kind of on the I'm-about-to-panic scale right now..."

Without a word, another hand reached down and grabbed his elbow, giving a sharp tug that sent him hurtling upwards and into the floor with a thud.

"Ow..."

Sharp footsteps clacked against the rough wood floor, fading away to the right, a dark cape swooshing around the owner's heels.

Something pulled at his shoulders, and he was suddenly enveloped in a bone-crushing hug, Anna whispering into his shoulder, "Thank God, thank God, thank God..."

"Ah... Hi."

She pulled away, eyes brimming with tears, and giggled weakly, pressing a friendly kiss to his forehead. "Hi, you."

"So, uh... What just happened?"

Her hands wrapped around his and she pulled him to his feet, shrugging. "I dunno. I just woke up, and you toppled over the edge, and then-"

"Did you see who caught me?"

"Uh, duh!" Anna's overjoyed smile faded slightly, and she squeezed his palm lightly. "But it doesn't matter. You're safe now."

"But I need to say thanks..."

She laughed. "You sound like a five-year-old! Just let it go, and come on! The whole oh-my-freaking-gosh-I-just-got-kidnapped thing is still going on, remember?"

"Oooh, yeah. Oh. Yeah. OH CRAP LET'S MOVE!"

With a rapid mood swing, Kristoff grabbed Anna's arm and began to run for the door, only to be stopped by a very repetitive, annoying, backstabbing human being. Without even pausing to think, the redhead marched up to Duke a swung her leg forwards, spitting out, "That's for everything, you jerk!" as he doubled over in silent agony.

Now on the home stretch, the two raced for the stairs, hearts pounding, breathing ragged, arm in arm-

"Oh, crap..."

Kristoff froze at the top, face a mix of conflicting emotions. "We forgot about Hans."

"Hans? Ooh, damn it..."

"What about me?" A familiar voice rang out clear, emanating from the room around the corner, a touch of dark humour present in its tone. "Come to say goodbye?"

"Hans?"

The two raced forwards, pushing open the wide double doors only to freeze in shock as they took in the sight before them.

"Welcome," Hans crowed, hands draped lazily over the throne's arms, legs casually crossed in a supreme manner. His jade green eyes trailed over their faces with a twisted mix of bitterness and pleasure as he lowered his hood, a crooked smirk marring his handsome features. "Welcome to gates of Hell!"

* * *

Elsa watched, an odd lack of feeling slowly overtaking her body. How strange it was to see him there, standing over her as she watched from above in a sort of out-of-body experience. He held the knife in one hand, the other gripping the back of her head and pulling it closer to his.

What is he-

From his pocket he withdrew a small orange triangle, smooth and metallic, and pressed it against her forehead, grinning as the small green light burst into life.

How did he get that? I thought it was Duke who took Olaf...

A bright blue spark began to snake from her fingers and up her gloves, burning them away with an intense heat. The power multiplied, and as the whirlwind lifted her body into the air, platinum blonde hair blown back in a silvery curtain, Elsa felt the lifeless sensation tug at her arms, numbing them with an uncomfortable warmth.

Lightning crackled in the small room, dancing between the girders like a laser, narrowly missing the tender wood each time it whizzed past. Elsa flinched as Hans moved towards her hovering body, raising his hand to tear the orange triangle away.

Don't do that-!

He yanked, and suddenly everything was foggy; someone else was pulling at the strings, and she was no longer in control, only able to breathe, to do nothing else.

She felt him move her above and into the roof beams, positioned by the doorway. She saw him climb down, descend to his self-proclaimed throne, and sprawl out on it, flipping through a sort of security feed on his phone. Eventually he chuckled, lifting his mouth to the speaker and drawling, "What about me?"

The doors burst open, and two familiar figures that were soon going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time emerged, freezing as they recognized their own friend.

Get away! I'll hurt you!

And even though Hans had just announced the welcome to Hell, Elsa had already become a permanent resident.

* * *

Anna couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. What on earth was Hans, noble, princely, charming Hans doing on a throne, and taunting them with a subtle death threat no less!

"Uh... What are you doing? Are you fooling, or playing a prank, or-"

Kristoff stopped mid sentence suddenly as the barrel of a gun was aimed at his head, Hans's finger lazily wrapped around the trigger. "Shut it, Bjorgman. This isn't about you."

"But then what-" began Anna, halting as the weapon was pointed at her in turn. "Shutting up!"

"Ah, yes I'm the villain now, I suppose. How fitting; the one with the best intentions becomes the monster... Quite like our poor Snow Queen. How pitiful. At least she doesn't have to worry about anything now. In fact, she won't have to worry about anything ever again!"

Kristoff stepped forwards, fists clenched. "What did you do to her?! I'm you've hurt her, I'll-"

"You'll what? Beat me by falling off the edge of a cliff? No, that's not very effective the second time around, especially when I'm not inclined to catching you again. For now, how about we just play along, alright? Great!"

"I don't-"

"He was saved by that hooded guy, Hans! Not you!"

Said boy rolled his eyes. "Guess what, Anna? In case you haven't noticed, it's me!" He pulled his cloak back up and smirked. "Surprise! I'm going to kill you!"

Anna let out a strangled squeak, and bit her lip, not daring to say anything else. In the meantime, Kristoff stepped in front of her, spitting, "You won't do anything without going through me first!"

"Aw, cool your jets, I'm just joking. For now. But come on then; we've got work to do. Move it!"

"Wait, what are you-"

"MOVE!"

Warning shot was placed well above their heads, and the two scrambled for the stairs behind the throne, hearts pounding as they listened Hans's ranting when he stood to follow them.

"Everyone wanted me to be perfect. Inhuman, pristine, every damn thing a person can't be. Well, I'm fed up, alright?! I've had enough! No more lies, no more pretending; I'll do what I want, and no one can stop me." He prodded them forwards, continuing, "But first, I have to cut my ties to everyone from the past. I can't have anyone or anything dragging me back. So what better place to start than the people who cared about me the most?

"I started easy, you know, a few meaningless acts. Throwing out old playthings and such. But the power inside me wanted more, want so much more."

The gate creaked open, and a wave of cool air splashed against their faces as they ventured out onto rooftop, feet slipping in the half-melted slush. Hans pointed Kristoff and Anna towards the centre of a dip, and snarled, "They told her I died. Even though we were going to be together, they said I was dead! She gave up on me after that. Moved on, away from me. I will never forgive them!"

"Them?"

The gun dropped to the floor, as did the knife from his pocket, and instead he pulled out his ConNet, placing the headset on his crown delicately. "The military taught me two things," he remarked, ignoring Anna's question. "The first; never trust your friends more than you trust yourselves, and two; revenge can be served either hot or cold, but hurts the most while freezing."

The pale white device lit up, green projection shooting out in a web of energy, surrounding the pair and effectively restraining them. Kristoff poked at a strand curiously, and asked hesitantly, "How did you..."

"I was always a hack, Kristoff. Learn the system, understand it, and surpass it. That was always a rule." A bright sphere of light crackled into existence, and hovered nearby, throwing odd dancing shadows across the floor. For a moment, everything seemed like a sort of massive trick, something that would end up with a happy ending.

Then there was the terrifying, high-pitched screech of gears grinding together, and the entire building began to shake.

"This was my father's warehouse! South Lake Mechanics? Hah! We could have been so much more! Tonight, everything ends! Tonight, this place is going to fall!"

A crashing sound echoed up the foundation as the destructive machine took hold, support beams falling away on the inside and leaving only the shaky frame of the original building.

"We have to get out of here!" Kristoff shouldered the net, clawing at the electricity and ignoring the jolts they sent up his arm. On his other side Anna was doing the same, tearing and punching to no avail.

Hans tutted, lobbing the sphere of energy for hand to hand. "Such a pity to have your lives wasted, but what can I say? Poor Kristy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And dear, sweet Anna... You only have yourself to blame."

With one last toss the ball came crashing down into the net, meant to eradicate the beings inside. In a final attempt to stay alive, Kristoff threw his arms over Anna, shielding her-

The net began to tear from the force, and as the ball pressed down, the boy pushed off, throwing himself and Anna against the rip and falling out onto the ground, both covered in ash and soaking wet, but alive.

"Persistent fools, huh? No matter. You're no match for me. I've planned for everything."

Kristoff turned to run, glaring, but a crackling bolt of electricity hit him, coming not from Hans, but from the far corner of the roof, trailing from the fingers of one battered, weary, exhausted figure.

Another bolt sent him back and into the ground with a thud. Staring to see who this last opponent was, he felt his stomach drop as they step forwards, hands outstretched and holding sparkling white-blue lightning in their bare palms.

"...Elsa?"

* * *

**SO SO SORRY!**

**But really, it's a good place to stop, so... And anyways, this was originally going to end at Hans's reveal, but I thought it'd be too short and threw in the the next chapter. THERE YA GO, YA AWESOME BUNCH OF READERS.**

**Please review! I'd love to hear from you, and listen to your raging about how much plot I'm dumping on this story at once. Don't worry, things will make sense...**

**Eventually.**

**See you in two weeks, and don't forget to review! Please? I'll even take a simple ":)"!**

**PS: To Cinnamon, I tried to improve. Tell me how I did!**


	7. Attention Readers!

**Heyyyyy.**

**It's been over two weeks, so now you get an explanation. Woo.**

**I'm going to take a break from fanfiction for a while. NOT because I'm stopping this fic; far from it. I love writing for you guys, even if I do confuse your brains out with ever chapter. And I will in NO way abandon this story. I have the entire thing plotted out for crying out loud!**

**No, it's just coping with life, and trying to write every day is kind of crushing me, you know? Getting three hours of sleep every day or less, being an absolute wreck at school, forgetting to study, arguing with family, depression... I could go on, but this isn't a place for me to be complaining. I apologize.**

**Anyways, this will be on hiatus for a bit. Don't expect more until after March Break, whenever that may occur for you.**

**(PS This may have something to do with moving everything over to Google Drive and such and actually getting a computer heh heh...)**

**So sorry! To make up for it, I'm taking mini lessons on how to improve my writing. I mean, I just looked back on this and jeeeeeeez... Well, um, hopefully things will be less confusing from here on out!**

**Catch ya later, peeps!**

**-Teddy**


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